Editorial: Give peace a chance

June 16

Denying Israel's right to exist is no basis for a settlement

NOT everybody got the message in Barack Obama's Cairo speech, that Middle East peace requires compromise.

The Israelis did, demonstrated by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's speech on Sunday proposing a new peace process. In return for accepting Israel as a Jewish nation he offered the Palestinians a two-state solution. But Israel's opponents are not having any of it. The Palestinian Authority says Mr Netanyahu's speech "torpedoed" peace initiatives.

This was a pointless, posturing response which reflects the mentality of those members of the Palestinian political elite who prefer nihilism to negotiation and are happier denouncing Israel than dealing with it.

And it reflects the mindset of those who want Israel treated as a pariah and who attempt to intimidate any individual or organisation that accepts the Jewish state's right to exist.

It is a mindset that shapes the belief that Israel is an enemy to be destroyed, held in the Hezbollah terrorist training camps in the south of Lebanon, the Fatah government offices on the West Bank and in the Hamas arsenals of the Gaza Strip.

And it is a mindset which permeates perceptions of Israel adhered to by people all over the world who want the Jewish state gone. Including people in Australia who abhor The Australian's commitment to the survival of the state of Israel.

On Saturday this newspaper published an editorial supporting Deputy Prime Minister Julia Gillard's plan to visit Israel as an opportunity to express Australia's support for a two-state solution.

This outraged members of pro-Palestinian groups who responded with emails that less debated the newspaper's position than demanded it change.

It didn't work. The Australian is pleased to publish well-argued opinion pieces and letters from all sides of the Middle East debate that are temperate in tone. But it has not, does not and will not, ever surrender to intellectual intimidation.

The sheer venom of Israel's enemies this reflects demonstrates how hard it will be for President Obama to broker a deal. Israel wants peace, albeit not at any price. Mr Netanyahu will only accept a deal which acknowledges the country as a Jewish state and which ensures its security against terror attack, outright invasion or obliteration by Iran, where the re-elected Ahmadinejad regime makes no secret of its nuclear ambitions.

And Mr Netanyahu will only accept a peace he can sell to an electorate in no mood for surrender after Hamas used Israel's unilateral withdrawal from Gaza in 2006 to create a new base for terror attacks. And there is no doubting the Israeli Prime Minister will bargain hard on all sorts of issues - from the exchange of land for settlements Israel should give up on the West Bank to the strength of Palestinian police force.

But he is prepared to bargain, just as Israeli prime minister Yitzhak Rabin was in Oslo in 1993, just as his successor Ehud Barak was at Camp David in 2000. On both occasions Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat backed away from a two-state solution, but in talking at all he did more than his heirs in the Palestinian factions appear prepared to do now. In rejecting Mr Netanyahu's proposal, the Palestinian leadership is betraying its people who need a permanent peace and functioning economy. Perhaps this is an opening gambit - or perhaps it reflects a permanent Palestinian orthodoxy, baldly stated in the Hamas Charter that Israel should not exist.

Whichever it is The Australian will continue to publish news and opinions, regardless of who we offend.

Source: The Australian

Israeli flag burnt in Sydney protest against Gaza conflict

By Stephanie Gardiner and Daniel Fogarty | January 04, 2009

A PROTESTER burnt an Israeli flag and others carried coffins as thousands of people staged demonstrations against the Gaza conflict today.

About 2000 people gathered outside the Sydney Town Hall to vent their anger over Israeli airstrikes on Gaza that have killed hundreds of Palestinians in recent days.

They chanted, "Free, free Palestine" and "Israel, USA, how many kids have you killed today?"

Others held placards saying "Patience O Gaza we have not forgotten you" and "Disgraceful world silence".

Invading Israeli ground forces have fought fierce battles with Hamas militants in Gaza since entering the region last night.

The ground operation follows an eight-day bombing blitz that killed hundreds of Palestinians and caused widespread destruction.

Gaza emergency services said one child had been killed and 11 others wounded in a tank attack.

Many speakers addressed the Sydney crowd to loud cheers from protesters of all backgrounds.

Forad Shriedy told the crowd he had been forced to flee Palestine as an eight-year-old in 1948.

"We are here today to condemn Israel's terror... and to say no to the brutal attacks on Gaza," Mr Shriedy said.

"Every person has a homeland to live in, but for the Palestinians the homeland lives in us."

The protest snaked through CBD streets, blocking off part of George Street as weekend shoppers and commuters looked on.

Marchers carried three coffins past the Egyptian consulate in the nearby suburb of Surry Hills as a reminder of the lives lost in the conflict.

Protesters chanted, clapped and banged on drums as they made their way to Belmore Park, where a young man climbed a tree and set an Israeli flag on fire despite organisers urging him to stop.

Protesters take sides.

In Melbourne about 3000 people turned out to protest against Israel's military assault on Gaza, just a few blocks away from a smaller pro-Israel rally.

About 500 supporters of Israel gathered at State Parliament chanting "no more terror", with banners calling for Gaza to be freed from Hamas' control.

At the Victorian State Library less than a kilometre away, pro-Palestinian protesters condemned the Israeli military action.

Protesters at the pro-Israel rally were draped in Australian and Israeli flags, and some held banners reading "Free Gaza from Hamas" and "Hamas uses human shields".

Speakers included Federal Labor member for Melbourne Ports Michael Danby and Liberal Senator Mitch Fifield.

Mr Danby asked Melburnians to imagine how they would react if their suburbs were being bombed.

"This is one of the dilemmas that democratic societies like Israel have to face. How do we react when faced by Islamist fanatics who would kill Australians, in Bali, murder our tourists in Mumbai and do what they are doing to the Israelis on the edge of Gaza," he said.

At the opposing rally, protesters called for a free Palestine and held banners showing photos of the bloodied corpses of children.

Other banners read "stop the holocaust in Gaza" and "peace & justice for Palestine".

Speakers urged supporters to write to Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and newspapers to condemn the Israeli action.

Victorian upper house Greens member Colleen Hartland called on the Federal Government to speak out against the Israeli military assault.

Acting Prime Minister Julia Gillard yesterday refused to criticise Israel's bombing campaign.

The two protest groups did not meet and there were no reports of trouble.

Source: The Australian

'We won't take Guantanamo inmates'

January 03, 2009

AUSTRALIA will not take any former inmates of the US' Guantanamo Bay detention centre, acting Prime Minister Julia Gillard says.

Ms Gillard said the Federal Government advised the US late night that Australia would refuse the American request.

It was the second time the administration of US President George W. Bush had asked Australia to resettle detainees from the War on Terror camp.

"We have considered that request and last night Australian time, Friday US time, we advised the US Government that we would not be agreeing to those resettlement requests," Ms Gillard said.

"Those resettlement requests were considered on a case by case basis against Australia's stringent national security and immigration criteria.

"Assessing those requests on a case by case basis (they) have not met those stringent national security and immigration criteria and have been rejected.

"(As) for the future, we will consider any future requests on a case by case basis against these stringent criteria for both national security and immigration."

She said both requests had been made by the administration of George W. Bush, not of US President-elect Barack Obama.

The second request came as incoming Mr Obama plans to shut the prison, located at a US sovereign naval base in Cuba, within two years.

The US has cleared about 60 Guantanamo Bay detainees for release, but they cannot be returned to their home nations due to security concerns.

Yesterday, Opposition Leader Malcolm Turnbull called on the Federal Government to resist the US request.

The Times of London reported this week that Britain was preparing to take detainees to allow Mr Obama's Government to shut down the prison.

Source: The Australian

PM warned: don't take men from Guantanamo Bay

Paul Maley and Geoff Elliott | January 03, 2009

A TOP US general has warned of the risks of taking terror suspects from the notorious Guantanamo Bay military prison as the Rudd Government yesterday admitted it was considering the move after a second request from the Bush administration.

Major General John Altenburg, formerly an appointing authority to the US Military Commissions - the body that oversees the prosecution of terror suspects at Guantanamo Bay - told The Weekend Australian that a significant number of former detainees had subsequently undertaken terrorist acts or had been recaptured on the battlefield.

His warning came as Acting Prime Minister Julia Gillard revealed Australia had rejected a request early last year from George W. Bush and was "examining (a) second request" made last month to "assist with relocation" of a small group of the remaining 250 inmates.

Having earlier told The Australian that any request would be considered on a "case by case basis", Ms Gillard yesterday said it was "unlikely" the Rudd Government would agree to the latest Bush request.

"Notwithstanding that it is unlikely Australia would accept these detainees, given the fact that the Bush administration has formally approached Australia with this request, the request demands proper consideration," she said.

However, Ms Gillard yesterday noted the request had been made by the Bush administration - in December after the US election - and not from incoming president Barack Obama, who is committed to shutting down the island prison.

Her tempering remarks came after Malcolm Turnbull declared it would be "completely unacceptable" to accept former detainees as migrants. The Australian revealed yesterday that the Rudd Government, and Gordon Brown's Government in Britain, were considering requests from the US to resettle detainees as part of a plan to close Guantanamo Bay.

General Altenburg yesterday said there was a significant degree of reoffending among the detainees who had been released from the Cuban prison.

"About 30 of them have been captured or killed or are known to be back on the battlefield," he said. "These are people who were released because they thought they weren't dangerous. To me, it's a fair comment to say, 'we don't want these people. Now we've got the burden of watching them and we don't know whether they're dangerous or not'."

Mr Turnbull demanded the Government detail any negotiations about the plans for Guantanamo Bay prisoners.

"Mr Rudd must rule that out and if he is not prepared to rule it out he must tell us exactly what plans he has for dealing with these inmates in our community," the Opposition Leader said.

The Rudd Government has promised that any detainees allowed into Australia would be "rigorously" vetted.

According to a report issued by the US military last June, a total of 37 detainees are known or suspected to have re-engaged in terrorist activities or been killed or captured on the battlefield following their release.

One man, Abdallah Salih al-Ajmi, conducted a suicide attack that killed seven people in Mosul, Iraq, in April last year.

The Kuwaiti national had been released from Guantanamo Bay in 2005.

Another detainee, Maulvi Abdul Ghaffar, was alleged to have become the Taliban's regional commander in Afghanistan's Helmand and Oruzgan provinces - where Australian troops operate - after being held at Guantanamo Bay for eight months in 2002.

Ghaffar was later killed by Afghan security forces while planning an attack against the Afghan police, the US alleges.

About 7 per cent of those transferred from US custody have engaged in, or are suspect to have engaged in, terrorist activity, US officials allege.

Generally, detainees transferred to Afghanistan or Pakistan re-engaged in local fighting, often against coalition forces, the report says.

Of those Guantanamo Bay recidivists transferred to Europe, the Middle East and North Africa, most reconnected with transnational terrorist networks, such as al-Qa'ida.

General Altenburg said there appeared to be some confusion in the public about Mr Obama's pledge to shut Guantanamo Bay's prison facility and the shutting-down of the system of Military Commissions used to try terror suspects, including Australian David Hicks.

He said the incoming administration had yet to make a decision on the future of the commissions, which General Altenburg said remained the best method of trying detainees.

He said trying high-value detainees such as alleged Bali bomber Hambali in US civilian courts could easily result in acquittals - not because the defendants were innocent, but because the evidence against them had not been managed in ways required by civilian courts.

According to a study on the remaining detainee population by US think tank Brookings, there are 248 detainees in Gitmo from more than 30 countries.

More than 70 per cent of the detainees are citizens of Middle Eastern and North African nations, including 94 Yemenis, the study said. Guantanamo also houses 20 Saudis, 10 Algerians, 10 Tunisians, nine Syrians, eight Libyans, six Kuwaitis, six Iraqis, three Palestinians, three Egyptians, two Moroccans and one detainee each from the United Arab Emirates and Lebanon.

Detainees from the region immediately surrounding the South Asian theatre of war include 27 Afghans, four Pakistanis, four Uzbeks and one Tajik.

The remainder of the population includes a far-flung collection of 17 ethnic Uighurs of Chinese citizenship.

Source: The Australian

Australia gives extra $5m in Gaza aid

January 01, 2009

AUSTRALIA has pledged an extra $5 million in aid for the people of the Gaza Strip, with the Federal Government saying it is deeply saddened by the loss of life there.

About 400 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli air strikes in the Gaza Strip in recent days, following the breakdown of a ceasefire arrangement.

Acting Prime Minister Julia Gillard said today that Australia strongly supported calls for an immediate halt to the violence.

"The Australian Government also urges Israel, Hamas and other militant groups to make every effort to avoid causing further suffering to innocent civilians," she said.

Ms Gillard said the Government would give an extra $5 million worth of aid and stood ready to give more.

The assistance would help ensure Palestinians had adequate access to much needed basic goods, such as food and medical supplies, she said.

The aid will be delivered through multilateral agencies such as the United Nations Relief and Works Agency.

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade is strongly advising Australians not to travel to the Gaza Strip or the West Bank.

Source: The Australian