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Newsletter

ISSUE NUMBER FOURTEEN

IN THIS ISSUE
• EDITORIAL
• STATE OF PALESTINE OFFICIALLY MEMBER OF INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT
• 2014 DEADLIEST YEAR FOR PALESTINIANS SINCE 1967
• UNHRC VOTED IN FAVOR OF RESOLUTIONS REGARDING OCCUPIED PALESTINE
• FRENCH FIRM PULLS OUT OF CONTROVERSIAL JERUSALEM CABLE CAR PROJECT
• LAND DAY
• PALESTINE MARATHON DEFIES ISRAELI RESTRICTIONS ON MOVEMENT FROM GAZA TO NASA: THE ODYSSEY OF A PALESTINIAN ENGINEER

Editorial
Global hopes for peace have been further diminished by recent confirmations of the Israeli Prime Minister’s anti-peace stance. His blatant rejection of the two-State solution endorsed for decades by the International Community, along with his racist rant against the Palestinian-Arab citizens of Israel and the inflammatory rhetoric of his extremist cohorts, indicate the depth of Israel’s intransigence and contempt for international law, human rights and the fundamental principles of democracy, equality and justice.  Every single day Palestinian civilians are attacked by the occupying forces and settler terrorists; Palestinian civilians are detained and arrested, with more than 107 Palestinians, including children, arrested in just the last week; collective punishment measures suffocate Palestinian movement and socio-economic life; and Palestinian homes and properties are demolished and land seized. During one week alone, occupying forces demolished 30 Palestinian properties, including residences, forcibly displacing 78 Palestinians, as well as an electricity network, factory, animal barns, and water wells and a reservoir. Israel continues to target Palestinian civilians with lethal force in gross violation of international humanitarian and human rights law. In the same week, on 11 March, a Palestinian fisherman, Tawfiq Abu Rayyala, age 25, was shot and killed by the occupying forces while on his boat off the coast of the Gaza Strip, well within the permitted six-mile nautical zone .On 15 March, 11 Palestinians were injured when occupying forces attacked civilians in Nabi Saleh protesting the construction of Israel’s illegal annexation wall. On 15 March and 17 March, occupying forces shot at Palestinian farmers in an area east of Khan Younis in Gaza and an area east of Gaza City. On 18 March, occupying forces shot at Palestinian civilians, injuring 9 people, at Al Jalazoun refugee camp, during a protest against the construction of a wall between the camp and the nearby illegal Israeli settlement of “Beit El”. On 20 March, occupying forces attacked protesters against the wall in Kufur Qaddoum near Qalqilya, in Nil’in near Ramallah and in Bethlehem, injuring 5 Palestinians, including a 13-year old child, and one journalist. On 20 March, occupying forces shot and injured two Palestinians in the town of Ahsan in southern Gaza. This toxic combination of developments, at the political, security and humanitarian levels, should be cause for alarm and should prompt urgent international action to prevent further destabilization and salvage the minimal prospects for peace before it is too late.

State of Palestine Officially Member of International Criminal Court
The State of Palestine has joined 41 international treaties, including the Geneva Conventions and their additional protocols, as well as the core International Human Rights Treaties, and on the 1st of April, officially becomes a member of the International Criminal Court (ICC).  Palestine is a state under a foreign military occupation, the oldest foreign occupation in modern history. It has been recognized by 135 states and has established diplomatic relations with almost 180 states. In its resolution 67/19, the UN General Assembly granted Palestine nonmember observer status. Its borders are those of the Palestinian territory occupied by Israel in June 1967, including Gaza and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. Israel claims that this move would eventually threat the chances to achieve peace, an allegation that is far from accurate. PA believes it is war crimes and war criminals that undermine peace efforts. Source:  www.english.wafa.ps  

2014 DEADLIEST YEAR SINCE 1967
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) says in its 2014 Annual Humanitarian Overview concludes that “2014 was a devastating year for Palestinians in the oPt,” said James Rawley, Humanitarian Coordinator for the oPt. In Gaza, 1.8 million people experienced an escalation of hostilities, which resulted in over 1,500 Palestinian civilian fatalities, including more than 550 children, and left some 100,000 residents without a home. On the Israeli side, five civilians, including a child, as well as a security guard were killed. Serious concerns concerns were raised over the conduct of hostilities of both Israeli forces and armed Palestinian actors. Reconstruction in Gaza has been slow, hampered by the continued blockade and the lack of funding, although the temporary Gaza Reconstruction Mechanism has enabled the import of construction material. “In the West Bank, including East Jerusalem,” he added, “conflict related casualties increased, a record number of 1,215 Palestinians were displaced due to home demolitions by Israeli authorities, while settlement and settler activity continued, in contravention of international law, and contributed to humanitarian vulnerability of affected Palestinian communities.”
For more information: http://www.ochaopt.org

UNHRC voted in favor of resolutions regarding occupied Palestine
On the adoption of three UNHRC resolutions regarding the occupied State of Palestine, PLO Executive Committee Member Dr. Hanan Ashrawi said: “On behalf of the Palestinian leadership and the people of Palestine, we express our great appreciation and gratitude to the members of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) who assumed a principled, courageous and just stand and overwhelmingly voted in favor of three UNHRC resolutions regarding the occupied State of Palestine, including East Jerusalem, at the 28th regular session of the UNHRC.” In short brief, the three resolutions called for ‘the inalienable, permanent and unqualified right of the Palestinian people to self-determination, including their right to live in freedom, justice and dignity and the right to their independent State of Palestine’; confirmed ‘that the right of the Palestinian people to permanent sovereignty over their natural wealth and resources must be used in the interest of their national development, the well-being of the Palestinian people and as part of the realization of their right to self-determination’; condemned ‘the continuation by Israel, the occupying Power, of settlement activities in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including in East Jerusalem, in violation of international humanitarian law, relevant United Nations resolutions.

French firm pulls out of controversial Jerusalem cable car project
Palestinian Authority complained to Paris about Safege’s involvement in the project. French finance and foreign ministries warned the company about the legal risks, and it pulled out. Le Figaro reported that on March 10, Saeb Erekat, the Palestinians’ chief negotiator, contacted French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius to complain about the French company’s willingness to take part in building the cable car in East Jerusalem. “The plan will lead to the illegal expropriation of private property, some of which belongs to the Waqf,” Erekat wrote to Fabius. The Waqf controls the major Islamic sites around the Old City, including the Al-Aqsa Mosque. Subsequently, the French administration secretly called a meeting with Safege’s directors. On March 12, the French Finance Ministry warned Safege’s board about the legal risks the project entailed, and the company says it sought a legal opinion on the matter.
Source: www.haaretz.com

LAND DAY
“On March 30, 1976, as thousands of Palestinians inside Israel protested Israeli plans to steal 60,000 dunams of land in the Galilee, six Palestinians were killed and hundreds were injured and arrested.
Thirty-nine years later, in the face of the brutal military occupation imposed by Israel, the Palestinian people still remain steadfast in their struggle to defend their inalienable rights to independence, freedom and justice.
For more information: http://www.imemc.org/article/71059

Palestine Marathon defies Israeli restrictions on movement
Thousands of Palestinians and internationals took to the streets of Bethlehem, winding past historic churches, refugee camps, and Israeli military infrastructure to compete in the third annual marathon hosted by the ancient Palestinian city. The marathon was conceived in 2013 under the theme of ‘Right to Movement’. Due to a matrix of restrictions affecting Palestinian movement and access across the West Bank — there are 99 fixed checkpoints and hundreds of physical obstructions — race organizers were unable to find a contiguous stretch of 42 kilometers for the race and instead runners do loops of an 11 kilometer track. Indeed, 85 percent of the Bethlehem district is classified as Area C, under full Israeli control, and organizers wanted to limit any risks and stay within Palestinian Authority controlled Area A. Despite the restrictions, the marathon is growing in size, and this year an estimated 3,100 people from 51 countries took part in the event, compared to 687 in 2013. Most of the runners are Palestinian, over 40 percent are women and organizers secured permits for 50 Palestinians from Gaza to run the race — around 30 were denied entry by Israel in 2014 — a showcase for inclusiveness and Palestinian unity.
Source: www.maannews.com

From Gaza to NASA: The odyssey of a Palestinian engineer
Soha Alqeshawi is a Palestinian from Gaza City. When she left the tiny territory where 1,82 million people live like prisoners in a total area of 365 square kilometers, she entered the University of Houston in Texas. Upon graduation as top of the class with a Bachelor of Science in Computer Systems Engineering NASA offered her a job working on the Shuttle program. “It was a dream come true”.
For more information: http://margaridasantoslopes.com

For more information: 
Shahd Wadi
Press and Media Officer
info@dmop.pt
+351 213 621 098

Newsletter

ISSUE NUMBER THERTEEN

IN THIS ISSUE
• EDITORIAL
• PLO CENTRAL COUNCIL’S RESOLUTIONS
• PA PAYS LIMITED SALARIES AS ISRAEL WITHHOLDS TAXES
• ISRAELI SETTLERS CONDUCT NON-STOP HATE CRIMES IN PALESTINE
• ISRAELI (FOREIGN) MINISTER DEFENDS BEHEADING OF ARAB ISRAELI NOT LOYAL TO ISRAEL
• RECOGNIZING PALESTINE
• EX-ISRAEL AGENTS THREATENED SOUTH AFRICA WITH CYBERATTACK

editorial
Israel has for the past twenty years hijacked all tools conducive to peace in particular negotiations by deliberately emptying them from any realistic or serious substance. Palestinians in the occupied state of Palestine suffer under Israeli military occupation, which is mounting to most brutal dictatorship for very nearly 48 years. They suffer the additional indignity of having their land stolen off them to accommodate Jewish settlers and Jewish-only settlement infrastructure. The PLO, the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people, On Jan. 2, moved to formally join the Hague-based International criminal court (ICC) in a process, which is due to take effect on April 1, setting the scene for potential legal action against Israeli officials responsible for all KINDS OF BRUTALITY MOUNTINMG TO WAR CRIMES AND CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY. Expectedly, Israel, the occupying power, reacted immorally as it has done before by withholding millions of dollars in monthly tax payments it collects on behalf of the Palestinian government. Exacerbating an already severe financial crisis including salaries of more than 160 thousand employees of the Palestinian national authority. The Israeli immorality of “withholding” the Palestinian tax revenue in addition to non- stop settlement construction on a stolen Palestinian land and the inhumane blockade of Gaza – all constitute acts of theft and of collective punishments by an alleged democracy. On Jan. 16, the ICC announced “a preliminary examination” into Israel’s actions over a period beginning in June, which included last year’s war in Gaza in which about 2,200 Palestinians were killed. UN figures indicate most of the victims were civilians. The PLO, is to lodge its first complaint against Israel for war crimes at the International Criminal Court on April 1st . The PLO is also planning to sue Israel over its policy of settlement building on land conquered by force in 1967. Under international law, all such Israeli constructions, is viewed as illegal and a major obstacle to efforts to realize the two states solution.

PLO Central Council’s Resolutions

The Palestine Liberation Organization – Central Council (highest Palestinian authority) on its 27th meeting held in Ramallah , Palestine, between March 4th-5th, analyzed the current political situation given the ongoing Israeli violations and crimes against the people of Palestine as well as the lack of action from significant segments of the international community. The following major resolutions were taken: •Israel, the occupying power in Palestine, must assume all its responsibilities in accordance with its obligations under international law.  •To suspend all forms of security coordination given Israel’s systematic and ongoing noncompliance with its obligations under signed agreements, including its daily military raids throughout the State of Palestine, attacks against our civilians and properties. •To boycott all Israeli products and not only those coming from Israeli settlements. Israel must pay the price for its refusal to assume its responsibilities under international law, including the systematic denial of the Palestinian right to self-determination. •To reject all attempts to recognize Israel as a Jewish State. Palestine will not legitimize the racist policies conducted by Israel against the Palestinian people, within both Israel and the State of Palestine, just as we reject the Islamization of the region adopted by all extremist entities. •To strengthen national reconciliation in accordance with relevant agreements is a top priority in order to facilitate the reconstruction of Gaza which suffers from an illegal and prolonged blockade by Israel, the occupying power. •To hold general presidential and parliamentary elections, including the Palestine National Council, as soon as possible. •To support the Palestinian diplomatic initiatives, including accession to international treaties and organizations, while insisting that the international community assume its responsibility to hold Israel accountable for its systematic violations of international law. •The Council expresses its full support for the Higher National Committee for the International Criminal Court (ICC).  •The PLO, in coordination with the Arab League, will make use of its right to request from the United Nations Security Council to set a deadline to end the Israeli occupation on all territories occupied on June 4th 1967 as a step towards full sovereignty and independence of the State of Palestine with East Jerusalem as its capital and honoring the rights of refugees in accordance with UNGA Resolution 194.  •The Palestinian National Authority was the outcome of the national struggle of the Palestinian people to move from occupation to independence. Its institutions should be maintained and must not be dissolved. •The PLO Executive Committee will execute all resolutions made by the PLO Central Council, and will report on the progress of the implementation during the next meeting of the Central Council.

PA pays limited salaries as Israel withholds taxes
For the third month in a row, the Palestinian Authority will pay all its employees only 60 percent of their monthly wages, as a result of Israel withholding tax revenues. In early January, Israeli authorities froze the delivery of $127 million in Palestinian tax revenue, collected on imported goods, as a punitive measure in response to Palestine’s decision to join the International Criminal Court. Palestinian Finance Minister Bishara said that Israel’s freeze on Palestinian tax revenue was costing the Palestinian Authority 70 percent of its budget. While under the Oslo agreements, Israel collects Palestinian tax revenues and is supposed to deliver the funds to the PA, Israel has historically confiscated Palestinian taxes in order to put political pressure on the Palestinian government. The UN has denounced Israel’s retaliatory move of withholding Palestinian funds as illegal, while other states including the United States have objected to the move.
Source: www.maannews.net

Israeli settlers conduct non-stop hate crimes in Palestine
On the 24th/25th of February, a Mosque near Bethlehem and a Christian seminary in Occupied East Jerusalem were set on fire by Israeli settlers again and again. Dr.Hanan Ashrawi Member of the EC of the PLO. Has strongly denounced this act of vandalism of al-Huda mosque in the village of al-Jaba, west of Bethlehem, and a Greek Orthodox seminary in Jerusalem: “Such hate crimes constitute a flagrant attack on all Palestinians, whether Muslim or Christian. Added by calling on the international community to undertake immediate action and hold Israel and its illegal settler population accountable with punitive measures for these crimes and acts of religious intolerance and bigotry”. EU Heads of Missions in Palestine said: “Religiously-motivated hate-crimes and provocations by any party carry the potential to further inflame an already fragile and volatile environment.” At this delicate moment, any action undermining the stability and the prospects of a constructive way a forward need to be avoided.” UN Special Coordinator for Mideast Peace Process Robert Serry said “I am concerned by this and all other religiously motivated attacks and provocations by any party, which may further inflame an already volatile environment.” “Extremists on both sides must not be allowed to turn this conflict into a religious one.”

Israeli (foreign) Minister defends beheading of Arab Israeli not loyal to Israel
Lieberman advocated “cut off the heads” to Arabs who are not loyal to Israel. The minister’s statement sparked criticism from former diplomats Israeli and Arab Israeli citizens. “Who is with us should have everything. But who is against us, there is nothing to do. We have to raise an ax and cut off his head, or we cannot live here,” said Avigdor Lieberman to speak on Sunday, in a session to canvass near Tel Aviv.
Source: www.dn.pt

Recognizing Palestine
The Italian Parliament backed a non-binding resolution on the 27th of February that urges the government to recognize Palestine as a state. Parliament voted by 300 to 45 to pass the motion presented by PM Matteo Renzi’s Democratic Party.(Euro News).
Source: www.euronews.com

Ex-ISRAEL AGENTS threatened SOUTH AFRICA WITH cyberattack
In 2012 the then-Finance Minister  of South Africa, Pravin Gordhan, received a letter of “unknown sources” threatening a cyber-attack “against South Africa’s banking and financial sectors.” According to the online edition of Al-Jazeera television, the hand-delivered letter gave the government just 30 days to achieve the “discontinuation of the Boycott Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaign and the removal and prosecution of some unidentified individuals linked to BDS”. South Africa’s ruling African National Congress has historically aligned itself with the Palestinian national struggle, and the BDS campaign there involves some high profile anti-apartheid struggle figures such as Nelson Mandela’s close friend and fellow Robben Island prisoner Ahmed Kathrada. According to the secret State Security Agency (SSA) briefing from September 2012, the authors of the letter received by Gordhan claimed to be former Israeli secret service spies “with access to various technologies and resources of the Mossad’s Electronic assault and defence division”.
Source: www.rtp.pt

For more information:
Shahd Wadi
Press and Media Officer
info@dmop.pt
+351 213 621 098

Newsletter, Uncategorized

ISSUE NUMBER ELEVEN

IN THIS ISSUE
• ISRAELI PIRACY
• ABBAS CONDEMNS PARIS ‘TERROR’ ATTACK
• JUSTICE FOR VICTIMS
• THE POLITICIAN WHO DOES NOT APOLOGIZE AND DEFENDS THE DEATH OF ARABS
• SECURITY COUNCIL’S PARADOX
• AUSTRALIA’S UN VOTE ON PALESTINE DOES A DISSERVICE TO ALL SIDES, INCLUDING ISRAELIS

Israeli Piracy
In addition to its ongoing colonization of the State of Palestine, including East Jerusalem, gross human rights violations, seizure and destruction of homes and properties, arrest and detention of thousands of civilians, and inhumane blockade on more than 1.8 million of our people in the Gaza Strip, Israel, ,the occupying Power, has now also resumed the theft of Palestinian tax revenues in direct retaliation for the legitimate, peaceful steps taken by the Palestinian leadership in the pursuit of justice and for the purpose of protecting the Palestinian people and advancing the realization of their rights, including to self-determination and freedom. The “withholding” of Palestinian tax revenues – funds collected on our behalf by Israel which they are obliged to transfer to the Palestinian government according to the economic protocol of Paris – constitutes a blatant act of theft and of collective punishment.  In this regard we wish to underscore that Israel charges 3% of the total revenue for its administrative work. We also wish to underscore that these tax revenues constitute the core of the budgetary funding for our governmental institutions including payment of salaries for civil servants, and thus completely undermine the effective functioning of institutions, including in terms of education, health, public safety and sanitation. Here, we must recall the obligation of the occupying Power, in accordance with the Fourth Geneva Convention to ensure the well-being of the civilian population under its occupation, an obligation that Israel is gravely breaching as it impedes and harms the wellbeing of the Palestinian civilian population through countless such illegal policies and actions. The announcement by the Israeli government that it is withholding tax revenues in response to Palestine’s recent rightful accession to several international conventions and treaties, including the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC), proves that this illegal, punitive action is also being taken in direct retaliation against our Government and against the Palestinian civilian population, in breach of International Humanitarian Law, which prohibits such reprisals. Moreover, we reiterate that such an action constitutes an act of piracy, for which Israel, the occupying Power, must be held accountable.

Abbas condemns Paris ‘terror’ attack
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas condemned a “terror attack” on a Paris satirical magazine that left at least 12 dead.
The president said in a telegram addressed to French President Francois Hollande that Palestine “strongly condemned and deplored the heinous crime that is in contradiction of religion and morality.”
The president also offered “sincere condolences” to the French people and the families of the victims, as well his hope for a “speedy recovery” for the injured and “patience and strength” for their families.
Source: http://www.maannews.net

Justice for victims
 ICC prosecutor Fatou Bensouda said her office would conduct an “analysis in full independence and impartiality” into alleged war crimes by Israel, including those committed during last year’s Gaza offensive. Human Rights group Amnesty International welcomed the ICC’s announcement saying it “could pave the way for thousands of victims of crimes under international law to gain access to justice.” According to Haaretz News Paper, 19/1/2015, “Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has decided to launch a media campaign directed against the International Criminal Court in The Hague and its Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda, according to sources at the Prime Minister’s office. Over the week end Bensouda announced that the court would begin a preliminary investigation of the “situation in Palestine”. Palestinian membership in the court only takes effect on April 1 but the Palestinians requested the invoking of article 12.3. Under this clause a non-member state can request that the Court’s authority be provided for specific cases pertaining to that state. The Palestinians asked the Court to extend its authority to the Gaza Strip, the West Bank and East Jerusalem starting on June 13. A senior official at the Prime Minister’s bureau said that a decision was made to take action to foil the Court Prosecutor’s decision to launch the preliminary investigation”.

The politician who does not apologize and defends the death of Arabs
On the 17th of March Israelis will go to the polls to choose their new representatives and government. There are campaigns to suit all tastes. Such as the one of Naftali Bennett (from Habayit Hayehudi party, Jewish Home, far-right wing). Bennett is (…) a politician who refuses to apologize, and considers that Israel did no wrong and so, doesn’t have to apologize. More: Bennett, who was born in Haifa on the 25th of March 1972, doesn’t conceal his racist views. “You can’t teach a monkey to speak and you can’t teach an Arab to be democratic” said in an interview with The New Yorker. In a discussion with an Arab deputy, he said: “When you were still swinging in the trees, we already had a Jewish state” “I already killed lots of Arabs in my life, and there is absloutly no problem with that” is another famous sentence of Bennett. (…).Bennetts is the Minister of Economy, of Religious Services, of Jerusalem and Diaspora Affairs. These positions have significant weight and importance in political and social life of Israel. Today, Bennett is seen with suspicion by the right, who is concerned with the politics he advocates for Israel and which many consider dangerous. He defends of the annexation of the entire West Bank, the enlargement of the Jewish settlement and refuses the two-state solution as a way to end the Arab-Israeli conflict; Bennett ignores completely the views of the USA, the European Union and the international community. More: When he is alerted about that, he simply shrugs his shoulders and says that the world will get used to this situation.
Source: www.dn.pt (on record this alleged politician is responsible for the Qana massacre in 1996 in Lebanon 104 women and children killed in air-raid shelter)

Security Council’s Paradox
Regrettably, the Security Council as a whole was unable on the 30th of December, to rise to the occasion, to uphold its duties towards world peace and security to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and forge a credible path for peace. Despite the situation is acknowledged by all to be completely unsustainable and to constitute a threat to peace and security in the Middle East and globally. In the occupied East Jerusalem, tensions are raging as Israeli violations and crimes push the situation to a precipice. Israel’s continued settlement colonization altering the City’s demography and character and further surrounding and isolating it; heavy-handed raids and repression of the Palestinian civilian population; vicious Israeli settlers, who continue to harass and assault Palestinians and seize Palestinian homes, with full backing of the Israeli Government.; and ongoing provocations and incitement by Israeli politicians and religious leaders, along with other Jewish extremists, who continue to raid and defile holy sites. In the rest of the West Bank, Israel also continues its illegal settlement activities in a grave breach of the Fourth Geneva Convention and in flagrant contempt of the global demands to stop this illegal campaign, Israel doing the exact opposite. In the Gaza Strip, the humanitarian disaster willfully and wantonly inflicted by Israel, the occupying Power last summer and its continued illegal blockade of Gaza with all it repercussions causing an unimaginable suffering of the Palestinian civilian population.

Australia’s UN vote on Palestine does a disservice to all sides, including Israelis
More Australians winced than applauded when they learned of their country’s very last vote at the end of its two year term on the Security Council. On 29 December Australia was one of only two nations to vote against a Jordanian draft resolution designed to hasten a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian dispute. Once again the conservative side of Australian politics was delivering what the pro-Israel lobby in Australia wanted, ignoring majority Australian opinion and the views of more liberal Jewish Australians. Ignoring as well, the national interests of Australia, the increasingly dire conditions of Palestinians and – a case easily made – the enduring interests of Israel itself. That is, the long term security interests of Israel as opposed to the expectations of its current ethno-nationalist leadership. Australia was ignoring the prospect Israel will end up as a “Greater Israel” governing 5 million Arabs with inferior legal status to Israelis – and be isolated and condemned as a result. It was a lousy way to wrap up a two year term on the Security Council, given the intense competition to win the seat. The draft resolution tabled by Jordan was unexceptional in terms of 25 years of work on Israeli- Palestinian peace. It called for a settlement on pre-1967 lines. It declared East Jerusalem capital of the Palestinian state within three years. It called for security arrangements, thus meeting the long term western commitment to security guarantees for Israel. These would include a “third party presence”; that is, western peacekeepers. It thus captured the recent Palestinian concession that there should be western peacekeepers within the territory of their putative state. And Australia voted that down.
Source: http://www.theguardian.com

For more information:
Shahd Wadi
Press and Media Officer
info@dmop.pt
 +351 213 621 098