UK government pledges over £50 million for the Palestinian territories, including funds for tackling extremism in Gaza

Secretary of State for International Development Douglas Alexander MP pledged an additional £53.3 million for the Palestinian Territories on 28 December, including funds for programmes to prevent the radicalisation of Palestinian children in the Hamas-run Gaza Strip.

The package, announced on the first anniversary of Israel’s three week military operation in Gaza, includes £7 million of emergency aid for Gaza as well as £5 million for additional teachers for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), which provides schooling for 206,000 children in the territory. The remaining £41.5 million will be provided to support the Palestinian Authority (PA) budget.

The Secretary of State also called on the Israeli government to lift the restrictions it has placed on access to Gaza since Hamas seized the territory from the PA in 2007, saying that “it is reprehensible to deprive ordinary people of the chance to rebuild their lives – punishing the poor and most vulnerable benefits no one”.

Hillary Clinton sets out US plan for Middle East peace

The US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has urged Palestinians and Israelis to resume peace talks as soon as possible and without preconditions.  

Mrs Clinton gave some details about how the US administration views a peace agreement, saying that resolving border issues for a Palestinian state would iron out differences over Israeli settlements.  She called for a viable Palestinian state based on the 1967 lines - a crucial starting point for the Palestinians – as well as saying that Israel should have a secure Jewish state that reflects subsequent developments.  This could mean some Israeli settlements remaining on occupied land in a negotiated deal.

With these statements, the US secretary of state has launched round-two of Obama’s push for peace in the Middle East.  Last year, all parties got bogged down in the details of an Israeli settlement freeze and the US was unable to break the deadlock. 

Washington is now pushing the parties to go straight to talks about borders.  Mrs Clinton indicated that dealing with borders would de facto resolve the issue of settlements.  "Resolving borders resolves settlements; resolving Jerusalem resolves settlements," she said.  "We know what a final resolution will have to include: borders, security, Jerusalem, refugees, water. We know what the elements of this two-state solution must include."

Arab countries say they still want to see settlement expansion stop but also acknowledge it is important to find a way around the impasse and get the talks started.

WEST BANK SETTLEMENTS

• Construction of settlements began in 1967, shortly after the Middle East War
• Some 280,000 Israelis now live in the 121 officially-recognised settlements in the West Bank
• A further 190,000 Israelis live in settlements in Palestinian East Jerusalem
• The largest West Bank settlement is Maale Adumim, where more than 30,000 people were living in 2005
• There are a further 102 unauthorised outposts in the West Bank which are not officially recognised by Israel
• The population of West Bank settlements has been growing at a rate of 5-6% since 2001

Source: Peace Now

Israeli prime minister visits Egypt and says “it is time to move the peace process forward”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu travelled to Egypt on 29 December to discuss the Middle East peace process with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.  

Shortly after returning from Cairo, Mr Netanyahu told a Likud party central committee gathering that “it is time to move the peace process forward”, adding that he was “very encouraged by the commitment of President Mubarak toward promoting the peace process between us and the Palestinians."

Egyptian Foreign Minister Aboul Gheit said that he was “encouraged” by the meeting between Netanyahu and Mubarak. He told reporters that the Israeli “prime minister was discussing positions that surpass in our estimate what we’ve heard from them in a long time.”

Northern entrance to West Bank town reopened after 10 years; further improvements in West Bank movement and access

Israeli forces re-opened the northern entrance to the West Bank town of Halhul on 4 January, following 10 years of closure. In addition to the Halhul road, there have been a number of other improvements in Palestinian movement and access in recent weeks.

The Israeli Supreme Court ruled on 29 December that the part of Israel’s Highway 443 which is in the West Bank should no longer be closed to Palestinians.  The Highway, which is the main road between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, was closed to Palestinian traffic in 2002 after a series of terrorist attacks against Israeli vehicles in which six people were killed.  In addition, on 17 December Israel removed the Beit Iba military checkpoint west of the city of Nablus.

Violent clashes over convoy result in death of Egyptian soldier

Hundreds of international activists travelling with the Viva Palestina political aid convoy violently clashed with Egyptian police on 5 January in the port town of El-Arish, 45 kilometres from the Gaza border.

Tensions arose after Egyptian security forces declared that some of the convoy’s trucks had to enter the Gaza Strip through an Israeli-controlled checkpoint since the Egypt-controlled Rafah crossing was only for medical and humanitarian aid.

An Egyptian soldier died near the Rafah crossing as a result of Palestinian gunfire from the Gaza Strip during a Hamas-orchestrated protest over the convoy and 12 Palestinians were injured in the ensuing gun battle.  The Respect Party MP for Bethnal Green & Bow, George Galloway, who led the convoy, was deported back to the UK from Egypt on 8 January and declared “persona non grata” by Egyptian officials. 

Egyptian Foreign Minister, Ahmed Aboul Gheit, said on 9 January that “members of the convoy had committed hostile acts, even criminal ones, on Egyptian territory”.  He said that all such convoys would be banned from Egypt in the future and aid to Gaza must now be handed to the Red Crescent or the United Nations at El-Arish.     

UCU invite Bongani Masuku to the UK

The University and College Union (UCU) has been criticised by the Anglo-Jewish community for inviting Bongani Masuku to take part in a speaking tour of UK universities.    Bongani Masuku, who is the international secretary of the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu), has been found guilty of hate speech by the South African Human Rights Commission (HRC) following threats to Jews in a speech made in March 2009.  

A UCU spokesperson said: “Our understanding is that Mr Masuku is seeking a proper hearing in relation to complaints around comments he made back in March. Until that process is properly complete it is not really appropriate for the UCU to comment.”

TUC delegation to Palestine

The Trade Union Congress (TUC) took a small delegation of trade unionists to Palestine at the end of November 2009 to see how the TUC-PGFTU (Palestine General Federation of Trade Unions) capacity building projects are being delivered.  UNISON, who is one of the core funders of this work, said “the delegation was able to sit in on one of the training sessions preparing PGFTU reps for workplace elections” and that the union had agreed to continue funding this work in 2010.  TUFI welcomes this commitment. 

Histadrut changes its constitution to allow migrant members

The Histadrut’s executive has voted to allow migrant workers to become full members.  The decision, which will come into effect at the beginning of March 2010, will remove an anomaly in the federation’s constitution that currently only permits membership to Israeli citizens and residents.  

To date, most of the Histadrut’s activities in support of migrant workers have been conducted via a special office in Tel Aviv, but the new policy will enable the Histadrut to unionise industries and companies all over the country that employ a high percentage of foreign workers.  Migrant labour accounts for over 7% of Israel’s labour force, and maltreatment of these workers is prevalent.  Alongside workers from Eastern Europe and various Asian countries, tens of thousands of Palestinians work for Israeli employers as documented or undocumented migrants.  The ITUC welcomed the Histadrut’s decision, calling it “a significant step towards ensuring an end to exploitation and helping ensure full respect for their rights at work.”

Unions show solidarity with Israeli Water Authority workers

Israeli Water Authority workers in Israel are entering their sixth week on strike.  The walkout started after tensions between management and staff boiled over regarding additional responsibilities for no extra pay.  

The Histadrut has called for trade unionists to show solidarity by getting a different union to strike for a few hours each day.  So far, partial strikes have been registered at the Tax and Customs Authority, the Rabbinical Courts and the Land Registry.  The Histadrut’s spokesman, Eyal Malma, said “the Finance Ministry has been completely ignoring the Water Authority workers, so we decided to organise a calm and measured response to show them we are in this together.”

The chairman of the Histadrut, Ofer Eini, said that the partial strikes did not mean the end to the industrial quiet agreed with the government.  “I prefer talks, with a minimum of strikes,” he said, “but a strike now and then is not a disaster.” 

Underwear company staying up, for now

The Chairman of the Histadrut, Ofer Eini, met with the controlling shareholders of the troubled Israeli textile company, Tefron, on 6 January.  The seamless underwear, swimsuit and sportswear manufacturer based in the Western Galilee has lost its main overseas customers and owes over £20 million. 

Eini has invited representatives of the involved parties to a meeting next week.  He said he would not let a factory such as Tefron close under any circumstances: “There are 1,000 people employed there and closing the plant means throwing these workers into unemployment,” he said.

War and peas: the “hummus conflict”

Israeli Arab and Jewish chefs have served up a world record for cooking hummus in the name of Middle East peace.  More than 50 cooks filled an eight-metre-wide satellite dish with four tonnes of the dip.

The chefs mashed up the mix of chickpeas, sesame paste, olive oil, lemon juice and garlic to make twice as much as when the record was set last October.  The Guinness world record idea was originally cooked up by Lebanese chefs who claimed the record last year.

The man behind this latest record, Jawdat Ibrahim, has devoted his life to promoting co-existence and held the attempt in his restaurant in the Arab village of Abu Gosh on the outskirts of Jerusalem.