Saturday, December 17, 2011
Gingrich draws flak for remarks on Palestinians
From The Hindu
Newt Gingrich is treading that fine line between being on fire and
being in the line of fire. The former Speaker of the House, who is famous for
causing a federal government shutdown owing to a personal rivalry with
then-President Bill Clinton, has been the poll leader for several weeks now.
Yet last weekend he might have stepped into a maelstrom of
controversy on the foreign policy front. Speaking to a Jewish channel earlier,
he labelled the Palestinian bid for statehood as efforts of an “invented
Palestinian people, who are in fact Arabs, and were historically part of the
Arab community”.
While Saturday's Republican presidential debate in Ames, Iowa,
might have served as an opportunity to rescind this remark, the thrice-married
Mr. Gingrich instead chose to stick to his guns, retorting, “These people
[Palestinians] are terrorists, they teach terrorism in their schools. They have
textbooks that say, if there are 13 Jews and nine Jews are killed, how many Jews
are left? We pay for those textbooks through our aid money.”
“It's fundamentally time for somebody to have the guts to stand up
and say, enough lying about the Middle East [West Asia],” he went on to say. He
also quoted Palestine's Ambassador to India who reportedly said there was no
difference between the Palestinian Fatah and Hamas parties, and “We both agree
that Israel has no right to exist.”
Unsurprisingly his remarks provoked a strong reaction from West
Asia, with the Arab League in particular “condemning” his statement calling it
“racist and a cheap stunt to get votes”. Media reports also quoted Mohammed
Sobeih, an Arab League official, describing Mr. Gingrich's comments as
“irresponsible and dangerous”.
Media comments from the Gulf suggested took umbrage at Mr.
Gingrich's frequent invocation of what some called a “slanted” history of West
Asia. In Saturday's debate Mr. Gingrich said, “Remember there was no Palestine
as a state. It was part of the Ottoman Empire... They had a chance to go many
places. And for a variety of political reasons, we have sustained this war
against Israel now since the 1940s, and I think it's tragic.”
Responding to this comment Gulf News said on its opinion
pages, “If the Palestinian people are indeed ‘invented', then Gingrich should
also accept the argument that the American people are, arguably, also
‘invented'.”
The newspaper went on to describe any such attempt by Mr. Gingrich
to achieve political gains with such a statement as a “foolish idea,” adding
that gaining the votes of the American Jewish community did not allow any
candidate or politician to deny outright the rights of any given people.
Labels: Isarel-Palestine conflict, Newt Gingrich
Saturday, August 21, 2010
U.S. to host West Asia peace talks
From The Hindu
After months of stalling, the Middle East peace process received a shot in the arm this week when the United States announced that it would be hosting talks between the leaders of Palestine and Israel in Washington in September.
In a statement Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said, “After proximity talks and consultations with both sides, on behalf of the U.S. government, I have invited Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority President Abbas to meet on 02 September in Washington, D.C., to re-launch direct negotiations to resolve all final status issues, which we believe can be completed within one year.”
Prospects for peace ground to a halt in March this year when, even as Vice-President Joe Biden was in the region to facilitate direct talks, Israel’s Interior Ministry announced that permission had been granted for 1,600 new housing units in East Jerusalem. At the time, a war of words ensued between Israel and the U.S., with Mr. Biden saying, “I condemn the decision by the government of Israel to advance planning for new housing units in East Jerusalem.”
Optimistic over negotiations
However, expressing optimism regarding next month’s negotiations, Ms. Clinton said that President Barack Obama and she were encouraged by the leadership of Prime Minister Netanyahu and President Abbas and shared their commitment to a two-state solution.
Secretary Clinton also emphasised that President Obama had invited President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt and King Abdullah of Jordan to attend the talks in Washington, given their critical role in this effort. She said that Mr. Obama would hold bilateral meetings with the four leaders followed by a dinner with them on 01 September.
Blair to join dinner
Further, Ms. Clinton said, Quartet Representative Tony Blair had also been invited to the dinner in view of his important work in helping Palestinians build the institutions of their future state, “an effort which must continue during the negotiations”.
Mr. Netanyahu and Mr. Abbas are then scheduled to join Ms. Clinton at the State Department on 02 September for a trilateral meeting to re-launch direct negotiations. On that effort, Ms. Clinton noted that there had been difficulties in the past and there would be difficulties ahead and, “without a doubt, we will hit more obstacles”.
Yet, she pleaded, “I ask the parties to persevere, to keep moving forward even through difficult times, and to continue working to achieve a just and lasting peace in the region.” These negotiations should take place without preconditions and be characterised by good faith, she said.
Labels: Gaza, Hillary Clinton, Isarel-Palestine conflict, Palestine Israel peace talks
Subscribe to Comments [Atom]
