Palestinians mourn an entire family killed in Gaza by Israel shells on

Jan. 3: President Bush will find turmoil when he arrives Wednesday.

Alhayat Aljadeeda, Palestine

Israel Works to Derail President Bush's Trip

"Israel is preparing for President Bush's visit by reshuffling the cards and by demonstrating that there are problems that were not included in any discussions before, such as the verbal escalation over political and security relations with Egypt!!!"

By Yehia Rbah

Translated By Jenny Oliver

Palestine - Alhayat Aljadeeda - Original Article (Arabic)

It appears that the Israeli ruling coalition led by Ehud Olmert isn't satisfied with the bloody military escalation in the Gaza Strip that amounted to eight air-raids in one day. The air-raids target civilians, such as the Fayyad family [photo, right], as well as resistance fighters and homes. Additionally, dozens have been injured and abducted and the vicious encroachment of Jewish settlements continues. Meanwhile, statements by Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni and Defense Minister Ehud Barak have roiled relations with Egypt, which shows the real trend of Israeli policy.

[Editor's Note: Israel has complained to Egypt that it isn't doing enough to stop weapons smuggling into the Hamas-cntrolled Gaza strip. Foreign Minister Livni said on Monday, "What they [the Egyptians] are doing at Philadelphi is deplorable and problematic." Egypt has promised to end the smuggling and says it is doing all it can].

This all shows quite clearly that the Israeli government is intent on putting huge obstacles in the path of George W. Bush's visit to the region on the 8th of this month. His visit will not be confined to Israel and Palestine, as he will also tour the region in general. But the focus for this visit is to promote the opportunities for peace opened up after Annapolis conference and the donor's conference held in Paris. However, both before and after the two conferences, Israel has been in a hurry to frustrate the peace process by setting off land mines one by one in the path of expectation for peace. The first explosion was the continued building of the Har Homa settlement in Jabal Abu Gheim, near Jerusalem .

Then came a series of bizarre decisions that put the Israeli army back in control of parts of the Gaza Strip, initiating an escalating series of assassinations and raids. These mini-invasions represent interference with plans for Palestinian cities, towns and villages in West Bank, developed by the government of [Palestinian Authority Prime Minister], Dr. Salam Fayad. The Israeli raid on the West Bank city of Nablus, in which a number of civilians were killed, is a violent and negative intervention by Israel. The type of security desired by Palestinians differs radically from that sought by Israel. We want security for our people and our institutions. We want our livelihoods to be secure and security in the region. But Israel is not at all concerned with these things. Why else would the Israeli intervention be so openly shameless and aggressive?

Israel is preparing for President Bush's visit by reshuffling the cards and by demonstrating that there are problems that were not included in any discussions before, such as the verbal escalation over political and security relations with Egypt!!! Israel is working to tangle all these issues into one big pile, so that the issue of settlements is considered at the same level as [Muslim] Pilgrims at the Rafah Border Crossing [between Israel and Egypt ], and the tunnels under the Rafah Crossing [used for weapons smuggling] are considered as significant as final status negotiations. So Bush will find himself calling for solutions to new issues and breakdowns that were never on the table before.

[Editor's Note: Final status talks are to lead to an agreement on borders, the disposition of Jerusalem, the right of return for refugees who fled or were forced out in since 1948 and a deal on water use].

Palestinian Arab consensus on this will result in a unified vision and perhaps a final decision by Arab ministers at the upcoming Arab League meeting in Cairo. Israel must accept Arab demands that are part of the Arab peace initiative if it wants to secure significant and valuable Arab cooperation. Israel will not get peace for free, but by fulfilling its obligations with sincerity and clarity - and without complication and ambiguity. We hope that the Palestinian domestic situation remains a bleeding wound so that it remains a key concern of our Arab brethren. We hold out hope that the Egyptian-Saudi initiative will put the Palestinian situation on the right path and that Israel will not longer be permitted to exploit the Palestinian situation to its benefit.

Yahyarbah@yahoo.com

Yhya_rbabh@hotmail.com

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