[[{"content_id":"122350","domain_id":"0","lang_id":"en","portal_id":"2","owner_id":"29","user_id":"1","view_accesslevel_id":"0","edit_accesslevel_id":"0","delete_accesslevel_id":"0","editor_id":"0","content_title":"Duplicitous Peace Talks Resume","content_number":"0","content_date_event":"2013-08-24 21:26:21","content_summary":"Israeli-PA talks are ongoing secretly to conceal manipulated injustice and divert.","content_summary_fill":"0","content_body":"Stephen Lendman:\r\n\t\r\n\tGlobal activists oppose them. They do so for good reason. They're dead on arrival. They are fake like all previous times. They're ongoing secretly. Doing so conceals manipulated injustice. It diverts attention from what's important.\r\n\t\r\n\tIsrael is waging war on Palestine. Out-of-control land theft continues. Dispossessions follow. Thousands are being ethnically cleansed. Doing so makes way for exclusive Jewish development. It doesn't matter.\r\n\r\n\t \r\n\r\n\tIsraeli Deputy Foreign Minister Zeev Elkin says calls for halting settlement construction are "anti-Semitic." The anti-Semitism canard is repeatedly used. It doesn't wash. It wore thin long ago.\r\n\t\r\n\tOn August 20, Israeli security forces murdered a Palestinian civilian. They did so in Jenin's refugee camp. They invaded pre-dawn. Three others were wounded. They included two children.\r\n\t\r\n\tA report said 12 military vehicles arrived at 4:30AM. They patrolled streets. They surrounded Bassam al-Sa'di's house. He's a prominent activist. He's an Islamic Jihad leader. He committed no crimes.\r\n\r\n\t \r\n\r\n\tThey burst into his home. They did so belligerently. They did it lawlessly. They ransacked it. Children threw stones in response. Soldiers responded with live fire. They used rubber bullets. They fired tear gas canisters and sound bombs.\r\n\t\r\n\tMajd Mohammed Lahlouh al-Shahla was seriously wounded. Live fire struck him in the chest. Emergency care saved his life. Medical sources said a bullet entered his right armpit. It settled in his heart.\r\n\t\r\n\tIt nearly killed him. He's lucky to be alive. These type incidents happen with disturbing regularity. They do so during peace talks. They expose the sham process.\r\n\t\r\n\tIsrael's at war with Palestine. It's been that way for decades. It's ongoing while talking peace. It puts a lie to hopes for equitable conflict resolution. Israel deplores what it claims to support.\r\n\t\r\n\tOn the same day, Israel gunboats opened fire on Palestinian fishermen. They're regularly attacked. Their vessels are damaged. They're confiscated. Arrests follow.\r\n\t\r\n\tFishing is hazardous to health. So is swimming. On August 18,  three men were detained for doing so in what Israel called a "suspicious" area.\r\n\t\r\n\tOn August 21, Israeli security forces shot two Palestinian youths. They did so in north Gaza. They opened fire with no provocation. They did it with impunity.\r\n\t\r\n\tOn August 13, Israel released 26 Palestinian prisoners. They've been held longterm. They're political prisoners. They committed no crimes.\r\n\t\r\n\tIsrael promised to release 104 prisoners. Implementation's in four stages. It's a political gimmick. A second group will follow. So will others after six and eight months.\r\n\t\r\n\tDoing so is at Israel's discretion. It depends on how peace talks go. It depends on if PA negotiators unconditionally surrender. It depends on whether Israel keeps its promise. It never did before. It won't now. This time's no different.\r\n\t\r\n\tPalestinians shouldn't have been imprisoned in the first place. Their announced release ignores thousands of others wrongfully held.\r\n\t\r\n\tAddameer said Israel's prisoner release policy belies goodwill. It doesn't build trust. It's used strategically. It's a "tool" used manipulatively. It's done to distract from vital core issues and demands. Israel spurns them. Doing so assures conflict. It prevents peace.\r\n\t\r\n\tMany scheduled for release were imprisoned over 25 years. Some approach the end of their sentences. They'd be released anyway.\r\n\t\r\n\tIsrael controls everything. It decides conditions, timing, criteria, dates and phases. It invents pretexts to re-arrest. Releasing prisoners doesn't end arbitrary arrests. It doesn't stop mass detentions. It doesn't abolish torture. It doesn't curtail holding dozens administratively uncharged long term without trials.\r\n\t\r\n\tAddameer's "dedicated to upholding principles of human rights and international law." It's appalled at Israel's punitive policies.\r\n\t\r\n\tJustice is verboten. It's systematically denied. "Re-arrests of released prisoners, continued mass arrests, and the policy of phased releases signify the importance of the release of all political prisoners before negotiations. as well as an end to Israel detention policies," said Addameer.\r\n\t\r\n\t"Comparative studies of recent peace processes (reveal) the importance and centrality of prisoner releases to the greater negotiations towards a lasting peace."\r\n\t\r\n\tIn negotiated peace settlements, "amnesties are often a necessary (pre)condition."\r\n\t\r\n\t"In apartheid South Africa, the release of all political prisoners was a pre-condition before peace talks between the African National Congress and the National Party government."\r\n\t\r\n\tTokenism doesn't wash. "Prisoners often play a central role in post-conflict politics. (They're) instrumental in addressing past grievances and in seeking justice and reconciliation."\r\n\t\r\n\tPalestinian Authority and Israeli negotiators haven't "secured this basic and necessary component to resuming negotiations."\r\n\t\r\n\t"In fact, although Israel promise(d) to release prisoners in every return to negotiations since Oslo I in 1993, they often renege(d) partially or completely on the agreements."\r\n\t\r\n\tDoing so violates 1969 Vienna Convention of the Law of Treaties provisions. They affirm agreements between two parties are binding. Israel's a signatory. It systematically spurns international laws. It does so with impunity.\r\n\t\r\n\tSince Oslo's 1993 completion, Israel released over 23,000 Palestinians. They called doing so "goodwill gestures."\r\n\t\r\n\tOver the same period, they arrested around 86,000 more. They included children, women, the elderly, disabled and students.\r\n\t\r\n\tReleased prisoners aren't free from re-arrest. It happens with disturbing frequency. Freedom for many is short-term. A dangerous release provision states:\r\n\t\r\n\t"The State of Israel reserves the right to take any means necessary against any of the released prisoners if they commit any terrorist and hostile activities as well as returning them to serve the remainder of their sentence, as will be decided by the relevant authorities."\r\n\t\r\n\tUnder Military Order No. 1651, Article 186, special military authority may rearrest prisoners based on so-called "secret information."\r\n\t\r\n\tIt doesn't exist. It's fabricated. It doesn't matter. Palestinians are required to complete their sentences. Many were imprisoned long term. Some for life.\r\n\t\r\n\tRe-arrest assures losing freedom altogether. They'll never again live outside prison walls.\r\n\t\r\n\tAt least a dozen prisoners exchanged for Gilat Shalit currently face years more in prison. Some may never get out.\r\n\t\r\n\tAddameer believes mass arrests will continue throughout peace talks. They'll do so after they end.\r\n\t\r\n\tIt's standard Israeli practice. It shows its dark side. It puts a lie to good faith negotiations.\r\n\t\r\n\tMass arrests and detentions continued during Oslo talks. In 1994, Israel released 970 Palestinians.\r\n\t\r\n\tAll served most of their sentences. None faced serious charges. They were political prisoners. So are thousands of others. Their crime is wanting to live free in Palestine. It's wanting to do so in peace.\r\n\t\r\n\tIn the two-week April 15 - 30, 1994 period, 2,700 Palestinians were arrested. Around 200 were administratively. They were arbitrarily detained. They were uncharged. They were denied trials. They committed no crimes.\r\n\t\r\n\t"The lack of policy change during these negotiations allows for Israel to continue its occupation and detain and imprison Palestinians without any accountability to the peace process or international law," said Addameer.\r\n\t\r\n\tPhased releases are duplicitous. They're tactical. They give Israel lots of wiggle room. It takes full advantage.\r\n\t\r\n\tIt happens every time during talks. So does reneging on pledges. Promises are made. They're systematically broken. It's standard Israeli practice.\r\n\t\r\n\tIsraeli "goodwill" is none at all. Its current agreement raises disturbing questions. Why were women, children and ill prisoners excluded?\r\n\t\r\n\tWhy were hunger strikers? Some abstained for months. They're in grave condition. They may perish short-term.\r\n\t\r\n\tLetting them die constitutes murder. Denying them immediate release is cruel and unusual punishment.\r\n\t\r\n\tIt's a crime against humanity. It doesn't matter. Israel does what it wants. It does so with impunity. Talks go on anyway. They reveal tragedy and travesty.\r\n\t\r\n\tThey exclude Palestine's legitimate government. Longtime Israeli collaborators represent them. Doing so assures betrayal.\r\n\t\r\n\tIt happened each time before. Israel gets whatever it wants. Clever language masks it. Palestinians are denied all rights.\r\n\t\r\n\tTheir Israeli-approved leaders serve one role. They enforce occupation harshness. They've done so since Oslo. They'll do it throughout talks. They'll do it after they end.\r\n\t\r\n\tFailure's guaranteed. It assures continued injustice. It continues conflict. It solidifies occupation harshness. It denies peace. It's a ruse. It's a convenient illusion.\r\n\t\r\n\tWriter Rachel Neeman sees little chance for peace. "Israelis don't know what (it) is," she says. They're conditioned to wars. It's "the norm."\r\n\t\r\n\tTalk is cheap. "(I)t doesn't cost anything." It buys time. It lets settlements expand.\r\n\t\r\n\tNegotiations aren't serious. Israelis can't imagine any other people rights than their own. Why should they? Talks yield whatever they want. They're all take and no give. It happens every time.\r\n\t\r\n\tSo does one war after another. It's just a matter of time. It's Israel's way of life. It's a warrior state. Peace is fundamentally abhorrent. There's been none for decades. Expect no change going forward. Complicity with Washington assures it.","content_html":"

\r\n\tStephen Lendman:<\/strong>
\r\n\t
\r\n\tGlobal activists oppose them. They do so for good reason. They're dead on arrival. They are fake like all previous times. They're ongoing secretly. Doing so conceals manipulated injustice. It diverts attention from what's important.
\r\n\t
\r\n\tIsrael is waging war on Palestine. Out-of-control land theft continues. Dispossessions follow. Thousands are being ethnically cleansed. Doing so makes way for exclusive Jewish development. It doesn't matter.<\/p>\r\n

\r\n\t <\/p>\r\n

\r\n\tIsraeli Deputy Foreign Minister Zeev Elkin says calls for halting settlement construction are "anti-Semitic." The anti-Semitism canard is repeatedly used. It doesn't wash. It wore thin long ago.
\r\n\t
\r\n\tOn August 20, Israeli security forces murdered a Palestinian civilian. They did so in Jenin's refugee camp. They invaded pre-dawn. Three others were wounded. They included two children.
\r\n\t
\r\n\tA report said 12 military vehicles arrived at 4:30AM. They patrolled streets. They surrounded Bassam al-Sa'di's house. He's a prominent activist. He's an Islamic Jihad leader. He committed no crimes.<\/p>\r\n

\r\n\t <\/p>\r\n

\r\n\tThey burst into his home. They did so belligerently. They did it lawlessly. They ransacked it. Children threw stones in response. Soldiers responded with live fire. They used rubber bullets. They fired tear gas canisters and sound bombs.
\r\n\t
\r\n\tMajd Mohammed Lahlouh al-Shahla was seriously wounded. Live fire struck him in the chest. Emergency care saved his life. Medical sources said a bullet entered his right armpit. It settled in his heart.
\r\n\t
\r\n\tIt nearly killed him. He's lucky to be alive. These type incidents happen with disturbing regularity. They do so during peace talks. They expose the sham process.
\r\n\t
\r\n\tIsrael's at war with Palestine. It's been that way for decades. It's ongoing while talking peace. It puts a lie to hopes for equitable conflict resolution. Israel deplores what it claims to support.
\r\n\t
\r\n\tOn the same day, Israel gunboats opened fire on Palestinian fishermen. They're regularly attacked. Their vessels are damaged. They're confiscated. Arrests follow.
\r\n\t
\r\n\tFishing is hazardous to health. So is swimming. On August 18,  three men were detained for doing so in what Israel called a "suspicious" area.
\r\n\t
\r\n\tOn August 21, Israeli security forces shot two Palestinian youths. They did so in north Gaza. They opened fire with no provocation. They did it with impunity.
\r\n\t
\r\n\tOn August 13, Israel released 26 Palestinian prisoners. They've been held longterm. They're political prisoners. They committed no crimes.
\r\n\t
\r\n\tIsrael promised to release 104 prisoners. Implementation's in four stages. It's a political gimmick. A second group will follow. So will others after six and eight months.
\r\n\t
\r\n\tDoing so is at Israel's discretion. It depends on how peace talks go. It depends on if PA negotiators unconditionally surrender. It depends on whether Israel keeps its promise. It never did before. It won't now. This time's no different.
\r\n\t
\r\n\tPalestinians shouldn't have been imprisoned in the first place. Their announced release ignores thousands of others wrongfully held.
\r\n\t
\r\n\tAddameer said Israel's prisoner release policy belies goodwill. It doesn't build trust. It's used strategically. It's a "tool" used manipulatively. It's done to distract from vital core issues and demands. Israel spurns them. Doing so assures conflict. It prevents peace.
\r\n\t
\r\n\tMany scheduled for release were imprisoned over 25 years. Some approach the end of their sentences. They'd be released anyway.
\r\n\t
\r\n\tIsrael controls everything. It decides conditions, timing, criteria, dates and phases. It invents pretexts to re-arrest. Releasing prisoners doesn't end arbitrary arrests. It doesn't stop mass detentions. It doesn't abolish torture. It doesn't curtail holding dozens administratively uncharged long term without trials.
\r\n\t
\r\n\tAddameer's "dedicated to upholding principles of human rights and international law." It's appalled at Israel's punitive policies.
\r\n\t
\r\n\tJustice is verboten. It's systematically denied. "Re-arrests of released prisoners, continued mass arrests, and the policy of phased releases signify the importance of the release of all political prisoners before negotiations. as well as an end to Israel detention policies," said Addameer.
\r\n\t
\r\n\t"Comparative studies of recent peace processes (reveal) the importance and centrality of prisoner releases to the greater negotiations towards a lasting peace."
\r\n\t
\r\n\tIn negotiated peace settlements, "amnesties are often a necessary (pre)condition."
\r\n\t
\r\n\t"In apartheid South Africa, the release of all political prisoners was a pre-condition before peace talks between the African National Congress and the National Party government."
\r\n\t
\r\n\tTokenism doesn't wash. "Prisoners often play a central role in post-conflict politics. (They're) instrumental in addressing past grievances and in seeking justice and reconciliation."
\r\n\t
\r\n\tPalestinian Authority and Israeli negotiators haven't "secured this basic and necessary component to resuming negotiations."
\r\n\t
\r\n\t"In fact, although Israel promise(d) to release prisoners in every return to negotiations since Oslo I in 1993, they often renege(d) partially or completely on the agreements."
\r\n\t
\r\n\tDoing so violates 1969 Vienna Convention of the Law of Treaties provisions. They affirm agreements between two parties are binding. Israel's a signatory. It systematically spurns international laws. It does so with impunity.
\r\n\t
\r\n\tSince Oslo's 1993 completion, Israel released over 23,000 Palestinians. They called doing so "goodwill gestures."
\r\n\t
\r\n\tOver the same period, they arrested around 86,000 more. They included children, women, the elderly, disabled and students.
\r\n\t
\r\n\tReleased prisoners aren't free from re-arrest. It happens with disturbing frequency. Freedom for many is short-term. A dangerous release provision states:
\r\n\t
\r\n\t"The State of Israel reserves the right to take any means necessary against any of the released prisoners if they commit any terrorist and hostile activities as well as returning them to serve the remainder of their sentence, as will be decided by the relevant authorities."
\r\n\t
\r\n\tUnder Military Order No. 1651, Article 186, special military authority may rearrest prisoners based on so-called "secret information."
\r\n\t
\r\n\tIt doesn't exist. It's fabricated. It doesn't matter. Palestinians are required to complete their sentences. Many were imprisoned long term. Some for life.
\r\n\t
\r\n\tRe-arrest assures losing freedom altogether. They'll never again live outside prison walls.
\r\n\t
\r\n\tAt least a dozen prisoners exchanged for Gilat Shalit currently face years more in prison. Some may never get out.
\r\n\t
\r\n\tAddameer believes mass arrests will continue throughout peace talks. They'll do so after they end.
\r\n\t
\r\n\tIt's standard Israeli practice. It shows its dark side. It puts a lie to good faith negotiations.
\r\n\t
\r\n\tMass arrests and detentions continued during Oslo talks. In 1994, Israel released 970 Palestinians.
\r\n\t
\r\n\tAll served most of their sentences. None faced serious charges. They were political prisoners. So are thousands of others. Their crime is wanting to live free in Palestine. It's wanting to do so in peace.
\r\n\t
\r\n\tIn the two-week April 15 - 30, 1994 period, 2,700 Palestinians were arrested. Around 200 were administratively. They were arbitrarily detained. They were uncharged. They were denied trials. They committed no crimes.
\r\n\t
\r\n\t"The lack of policy change during these negotiations allows for Israel to continue its occupation and detain and imprison Palestinians without any accountability to the peace process or international law," said Addameer.
\r\n\t
\r\n\tPhased releases are duplicitous. They're tactical. They give Israel lots of wiggle room. It takes full advantage.
\r\n\t
\r\n\tIt happens every time during talks. So does reneging on pledges. Promises are made. They're systematically broken. It's standard Israeli practice.
\r\n\t
\r\n\tIsraeli "goodwill" is none at all. Its current agreement raises disturbing questions. Why were women, children and ill prisoners excluded?
\r\n\t
\r\n\tWhy were hunger strikers? Some abstained for months. They're in grave condition. They may perish short-term.
\r\n\t
\r\n\tLetting them die constitutes murder. Denying them immediate release is cruel and unusual punishment.
\r\n\t
\r\n\tIt's a crime against humanity. It doesn't matter. Israel does what it wants. It does so with impunity. Talks go on anyway. They reveal tragedy and travesty.
\r\n\t
\r\n\tThey exclude Palestine's legitimate government. Longtime Israeli collaborators represent them. Doing so assures betrayal.
\r\n\t
\r\n\tIt happened each time before. Israel gets whatever it wants. Clever language masks it. Palestinians are denied all rights.
\r\n\t
\r\n\tTheir Israeli-approved leaders serve one role. They enforce occupation harshness. They've done so since Oslo. They'll do it throughout talks. They'll do it after they end.
\r\n\t
\r\n\tFailure's guaranteed. It assures continued injustice. It continues conflict. It solidifies occupation harshness. It denies peace. It's a ruse. It's a convenient illusion.
\r\n\t
\r\n\tWriter Rachel Neeman sees little chance for peace. "Israelis don't know what (it) is," she says. They're conditioned to wars. It's "the norm."
\r\n\t
\r\n\tTalk is cheap. "(I)t doesn't cost anything." It buys time. It lets settlements expand.
\r\n\t
\r\n\tNegotiations aren't serious. Israelis can't imagine any other people rights than their own. Why should they? Talks yield whatever they want. They're all take and no give. It happens every time.
\r\n\t
\r\n\tSo does one war after another. It's just a matter of time. It's Israel's way of life. It's a warrior state. Peace is fundamentally abhorrent. There's been none for decades. Expect no change going forward. Complicity with Washington assures it.<\/p>","content_source":null,"content_url":null,"content_columns":"0","content_date_start":"2013-08-24 21:26:21","content_date_finish":"2013-08-24 21:26:21","content_date_register":"2013-08-24 21:26:21","content_date_last_edit":"0000-00-00 00:00:00","content_show_img":"1","content_show_details":"1","content_show_related_img":"1","content_show_slider":"1","content_show_title_slider":"1","content_comment":"0","content_score":"0","content_recorded":"0","content_confirmed":"1","content_status":"1","content_kind":"0","old_id":"120609","tag_id":null,"tag_word":null,"tag_service":null,"tag_total":null,"tag_soundex":null,"attach_token":"1565891228","attach_date_register":"2013-08-24 21:26:42","attach_id":"113339","attach_file_ext":"jpg","attach_file_header":"image\/jpeg","attach_img_type":"2","attach_img_width":"320","attach_img_height":"120","attach_file_media":"1","attach_show_watermark":"0","score_average":null,"score_count":null,"score_date_last":null,"visit_count":"262","visit_date_last":"2025-05-10 15:02:52","attach_title":"Duplicitous Peace Talks Resume","node_title":"Commentaries","ot_node_left_right":"[{\"node_id\":134, \"left\":25, \"right\":26}]"}]]