Tuesday, 23 January 2018

Jerusalem: US embassy to move by end of 2019 - Pence

“Jerusalem: US Embassy to Move by End of 2019 - Pence.” BBC News, BBC, 22 Jan. 2018, www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-42773456.

The US embassy will move from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem before the end of 2019, Vice-President Mike Pence has said.

The date is earlier than some had expected when President Donald Trump declared last month that Jerusalem was Israel's capital and ordered the start of preparations for the embassy move.

Mr Pence made the announcement in a speech to the Israeli parliament.

He was briefly interrupted by Arab MPs who held up banners saying "Jerusalem is the capital of Palestine".

Mr Pence responded by smiling and saying that it was "deeply humbling to be standing before this vibrant democracy".

Rather than meet the vice-president, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas travelled to Brussels to urge the EU to recognise a Palestinian state.

Why is the status of Jerusalem so controversial?

The status of Jerusalem goes to the heart of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Israel regards Jerusalem as its "eternal and undivided" capital, while the Palestinians claim East Jerusalem - occupied by Israel in the 1967 Middle East war - as the capital of a future state.

Israeli sovereignty over Jerusalem has never been recognised internationally, and according to the 1993 Israel-Palestinian peace accords, the final status of Jerusalem is meant to be discussed in the latter stages of peace talks.

Since 1967, Israel has built a dozen settlements, home to about 200,000 Jews, in East Jerusalem. These are considered illegal under international law, although Israel disputes this.

Was Mr Pence's announcement a surprise?

The US vice-president defended Mr Trump's decision to break with international consensus in his address to the Knesset (parliament) on Monday, saying it had "righted a 70-year wrong".

"Jerusalem is Israel's capital," he stated. "In the weeks ahead, our administration will advance its plan to open the United States Embassy in Jerusalem, and that United States Embassy will open before the end of next year."

"By finally recognising Jerusalem as Israel's capital, the United States has chosen fact over fiction. And fact is the only true foundation for a just and lasting peace."

Image cop

Last month, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said moving the embassy was "not going to be anything that happens right away" and was "probably no earlier than three years out".

That was because the state department still needed to acquire a site, commission architects and gain planning approval, and then build the compound, he explained.

However, last week senior US officials told the New York Times that the embassy transfer might happen in 2019 because diplomats had settled on a plan to convert an existing consular building in West Jerusalem.

What else did Mr Pence say?

Although Palestinian leaders refused to meet the vice-president on this trip, he also said his country remained fully committed to achieving a peace deal to end the Israel-Palestinian conflict.

Image copyrighImage

"We strongly urge the Palestinian leadership to return to the table. Peace can only come through dialogue," he said.

Earlier, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the US and Israel were "striving together to achieve a truce peace, lasting peace, peace with all our neighbours, including the Palestinians".

President Abbas has accused Mr Trump of delivering the "slap of the century" and said he will no longer accept the US as a mediator.

How did Palestinians react to the speech?

Saeb Erekat, the secretary-general of the Palestine Liberation Organisation, said Mr Pence's "messianic discourse" was a "gift to extremists". It had proven that the US was "part of the problem rather than the solution", he added.

Mr Abbas made no mention of the speech when he met EU foreign affairs chief Federica Mogherini in Brussels. But he stressed that Palestinians were "keen on continuing on the way of negotiations because we believe it is the only way forward to reach a negotiated solution and peace between us and Israel".

He also called on EU member states to "swiftly recognise the state of Palestine", adding that there was "no contradiction between recognition and the resumption of negotiations".

Ms Mogherini said "the only pragmatic, realistic solution for Jerusalem has to come through direct negotiations" and called on all those involved in the peace process to "speak wisely and consistently with a sense of responsibility".

Audience: pointing towards Americans, Muslims, and Jews.

my response: I think it is dumb that some people are so angered by this. Especially the Palestinians, because i believe that there is no such thing as Palestinians land or borders. All of it is Israel, and it says no where in the bible that there was Palestinian land or borders, it says the land of Israel. I think it should be up to the Jewish peoples and Israelis

Tuesday, 16 January 2018

Syria war: Turkish air strikes 'damage ancient Afrin temple'.

“Syria War: Turkish Air Strikes 'Damage Ancient Afrin Temple'.” BBC News, 29 Jan. 2018, www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-42858265.

Related Topics

Image copyrighImage ca
Turkish air strikes have seriously damaged an ancient temple in Syria's Kurdish-held Afrin region, the Syrian government and a monitoring group say.

Pictures circulated online showed what appeared to be a crater in the centre of the Ain Dara site and rubble where there used to be carved basalt lions.

The Neo-Hittite temple was built by the Arameans in the first millennium BC.

Turkish troops and allied Syrian rebels launched an offensive to push a Kurdish militia out of Afrin nine days ago.

The Turkish government says the People's Protection Units (YPG) is an extension of the banned Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which has fought for Kurdish autonomy in south-eastern Turkey for three decades.

'We will never abandon our homes'

How historical Afrin became a prize worth a war

Why Turkey is targeting Kurdish enclave in Syria

The YPG denies any direct organisational links to the PKK - an assertion backed by the US, which has provided the militia and allied Arab fighters with weapons and air support to help them battle the jihadist group Islamic State (IS) in Syria.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based monitoring group, says at least 51 civilians living in Afrin have been killed in Turkish air and artillery strikes since the offensive began. Dozens of YPG fighters and rebels are also reported to have died in clashes, along with seven Turkish soldiers.

End of Facebook post by Syrian Observatory for Human Ri

About 60% of the temple of Ain Dara, which is 10km (6 miles) south of the city of Afrin, was destroyed on Friday, according to the Syrian Observatory.
Syria's antiquities department, a government agency, denounced the attack, saying it "reflects the hatred and barbarism of the Turkish regime against the Syrian identity and against the past, present and future of the Syrian people".

Former antiquities chief Maamoun Abdul Karim told AFP news agency that the temple was known for its "exceptional" colossal basalt lions.

Many of Syria's ancient sites have been damaged or destroyed in fighting during the civil war or demolished by IS for being "idolatrous".

The sites include the Unesco World Heritage site of Palmyra, where IS militants blew up the 2,000-year-old Temple of Bel, the tetrapylon - a stone platform supported by four columns - and part of a theatre.

Mr Abdulkarim said the destruction of Ain Dara was "the same level of atrocity" as that seen in Palmyra and that he was also concerned about the fate of a number of ancient villages that are close to the frontlines in the south of the Afrin region.

Unesco, whose World Heritage list describes them as the "Ancient Villages of Northern Syria", says they date from the first to the seventh centuries AD and "provide remarkable testimony to rural life in late antiquity and during the Byzantine period".

Audience: the audience of this article is number of different people and countries. It is geared more towards the Turks Syrians, Kurds, Arab fighters, the US, the UK, and so many others. Because of the Turkish air have crossed enemy lines, the Kurd's and Syrians are up in air, because if the damage the Turks did.

Reader's Bias: I think the author is leaning toward the Turks, because they are seen in a way, as the good guy, because the Syrians are the one who are said to have started the war. The Turk's are just part of the show. Like they really don't have a soul purpose. Also i think that (IS) (Islamic State) is also with Syria and the Kurd's, as well Arab fighter. The US, UK, and Turks, are on a team, IF you will. And Syria, Kurd's, and Arab fighters, are on a team.

Wednesday, 10 January 2018

Jerusalem: Turkey warns Trump against crossing 'red line'

“Jerusalem: New Warnings over US Shift on City Status.” BBC News, BBC, 5 Dec. 2017, www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-42232158.

Turkey's president has warned it could sever ties with Israel if the US recognizes Jerusalem as its capital.

Recep Tayyip Erdogan said such a move would cross a "red line" for Muslims.

Donald Trump called Middle Eastern leaders on Tuesday amid growing warnings against taking the step.

Reports say the president will dramatically shift the US position on the status of Jerusalem this week. Its fate is one of the thorniest issues between Israel and the Palestinians.

Israel has always regarded it as its capital city, while the Palestinians claim East Jerusalem as the capital of a future Palestinian state.

If Washington recognizes Jerusalem as Israel's capital, it would be the first country to do so since the foundation of the state in 1948.

What did Turkey say?

In a televised speech, Mr. Erdogan addressed the US president directly, saying "Mr. Trump! Jerusalem is a red line for Muslims.

"We could go as far as cutting diplomatic ties with Israel over the issue," he added.

The alternatives to a two-state solution

Why settlement issue is so difficult

Turkey and Israel restored diplomatic relations last year, six years after Turkey severed ties in protest at the killing of nine pro-Palestinian Turkish activists in clashes with Israeli commandos on board a ship trying to break Israel's naval blockade of Gaza.

Israeli minister Naftali Bennett rebuffed the Turkish president, saying: "Unfortunately, Erdogan does not miss an opportunity to attack Israel.

"There will always be those who criticize, but at the end of the day it is better to have a united Jerusalem than Erdogan's sympathy."

Mr. Trump has been having conversations with numerous world leaders a day before his anticipated announcement.

A Palestinian spokesman said President Mahmoud Abbas had told Mr. Trump that moving the US embassy to Jerusalem would have dangerous consequences. He said Mr. Abbas gave the warning after Mr. Trump informed him of his intention to move the embassy.

Jordan's King Abdullah has taken a similar line on the issue. He told Mr. Trump that moving the embassy would have "dangerous repercussions on the stability and security of the region", a statement from the Jordanian palace said.

Jordan acts as custodian of the Islamic sites in Jerusalem.

What is so contentious about Jerusalem's status?

The status of Jerusalem goes to the heart of Israel's conflict with the Palestinians, who are backed by the rest of the Arab and wider Islamic world.

The city is home to key religious sites sacred to Judaism, Islam and Christianity, especially in East Jerusalem.

Israel occupied the sector, previously occupied by Jordan, in the 1967 Middle East war and regards the entire city as its indivisible capital.

The Palestinians claim East Jerusalem as the capital of a future state, and according to 1993 Israel-Palestinian peace accords, its final status is meant to be discussed in the latter stages of peace talks.

Israeli sovereignty over Jerusalem has never been recognized internationally, and all countries, including Israel's closest ally the US, maintain their embassies in Tel Aviv.

Since 1967, Israel has built a dozen settlements, home to about 200,000 Jews, in East Jerusalem. These are considered illegal under international law, though Israel disputes this.

If the US recognizes Jerusalem as Israel's capital, it will put it out-of-step with the rest of the international community and reinforce Israel's position that settlements in the east are valid Israeli communities.

Who else has spoken out?

France's President Emmanuel Macron told Donald Trump he is "concerned" the US leader could unilaterally recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital, saying any decision on its status must be "within the framework of negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians".

The European Union, part of the so-called Middle East Quartet of mediators which includes the US, the UN and Russia, warned of "serious repercussions on public opinion in large parts of the world".

Arab League chief Ahmed Aboul Gheit warned it would be "a dangerous measure that would have repercussions".

Saudi Arabia said such a move before a final settlement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict would "have a detrimental impact on the peace process".

Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has also warned against the move. A statement said the leader had told Mr. Trump not to complicate matters in the Middle East.

Audience: The Audience of this article is pointed mainly toward they Muslims and Jews in Jerusalem, around the surrounding city and even outside the city. Because they are the ones in the midst of this ciaos. This is a big and important change in some of the lives of the Jews in the capital of Israel, Jerusalem, moving the US embassy to Jerusalem, and making the city the capital of Israel, arose some negative protesters in the West bank and Jerusalem, where some of the Palestinians reside.

Author’s Bias: In this article, the author this making it clear that What Trump wants to do, is making it a “red line” in the eyes of the Muslims, and can cause uproar from the Palestinians, because of their Capital in East Jerusalem, in the near future. The author’s bias is pointed, toward having the capital in Jerusalem. Even though there will be an uproar against the Palestinians, and Israelis. The author I think, is trying to show what other leaders think, so he/she is trying to get an all-around response, to hear what everyone is trying to say. To where is no right or wrong answer.

Reader’s bias: I personally think that this article is saying, through a variety of different people that the capital should not be in Jerusalem. Being a Christian, according to the bible, Jerusalem has been the Capital ever since King David, you would think that Jerusalem would already be the capital of Israel already. There has been conflict with Israel and Palestine for years, between the Golan heights, West Bank, and the Gaza strip. It is hard to tell now, what is and isn’t part of Israel.