Gabriel Helou

Amnesty International : Palestine UN status upgrade should open door to justice “Palestine's historic recognition as a non-member observer state of the United Nations brings with it obligations under international law, Amnesty International said today. The vote at the UN General Assembly in New York on Thursday was decided by 138 votes in favour, 41 abstentions, and 9 against. Palestine is in a position to ratify the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC) and other human rights and international humanitarian law treaties, bolstering accountability for human rights violations and crimes under international law.”  

Full text of UN General Assembly Resolution on the "Status of Palestine in the United Nations" (A/RES/67/19)

Since the beginning of its occupation of East Jerusalem and the West Bank in 1967, Israel, the Occupying Power, has officially adopted, supported and financed a policy of settling parts of its civilian population in those areas, under the pretext of maintaining its security. Moreover, it has encouraged the “unofficial”building of settlements, in East Jerusalem and the West Bank, through what it refers to as “illegal outposts”. Those outposts are built by Jewish groups without the prior consent or permission of the Israeli Government. However, they eventually obtain retro-active permits as well as all sort of facilities. This direct and indirect settling of Israelis in the abovementioned areas is in breach of the international law, because the occupation itself is at the outset illegal under Article 2/4 of the Charter of the United Nations, and it further constitutes a war crime according to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC) [*] . Article 8/2/b/...

The draft resolution on the Status of Palestine at the United Nations (document A/67/L.28) was adopted by a recorded vote of 138 in favour to 9 against, with 41 abstentions, as follows: In favour : Afghanistan, Algeria, Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belarus, Belgium, Belize, Benin, Bhutan, Bolivia, Botswana, Brazil, Brunei Darussalam, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Chile, China, Comoros, Congo, Costa Rica, Côte d’Ivoire, Cuba, Cyprus, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Denmark, Djibouti, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Finland, France, Gabon, Gambia, Georgia, Ghana, Greece, Grenada, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Honduras, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Ireland, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Lebanon, Lesotho, Libya, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Mala...

“The 193-nation U.N. General Assembly on Thursday overwhelmingly approved the de facto recognition of a sovereign Palestinian state after Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas called on the world body to issue its long overdue "birth certificate." There were 138 votes in favor, nine against and 41 abstentions. Three countries did not take part in the vote to upgrade the Palestinian Authority's observer status at the United Nations to "non-member state" from "entity."”

منح فلسطين صفة "دولة مراقبة" في الجمعية العامة للأمم المتحدة يعني ضمنياً الاعتراف بها كدولة مستقلة وذات سيادة. فبموجب صفة "دولة مراقبة" تحول الوضع القانوني الدولي لفلسطين من "أراضي محتلة" و"كيان" في الجمعية العامة إلى دولة محتلة - مراقبة. وحيث تم الاعتراف بفلسطين كدولة، يعني أن بامكانها - ضمن غيرها من الأمور - أن تفتح علاقات دبلوماسية كاملة مع الدول الأخرى. وأيضاً يحق لفلسطين أن تكون طرف في أية معاهدة أو اتفاقية دولية، والانضمام لأية منظمة دولية، والتوجه للمحاكم الدولية.

“The Palestinian bid for longed-for although indirect recognition as a state is expected to pass easily when presented to the 193-nation General Assembly in New York on Thursday. There are dissenters, though; a handful of states, including Israel and the US, are expected to vote against. US diplomats have made a last-ditch attempt to persuade Mahmoud Abbas to opt for dialogue with Israel. A few European member states have voiced doubts but, despite their objections, almost half of the 27 have pledged their support. There is also strong backing from the developing world.”

The injustice inflicted on the Palestinian people must end. The UN should send a clear and resounding message to Israel: end the suffering of the Palestinian people !

It is necessary to clarify the legal effect of UN recognition of Palestine as a “State”. In other words, does the recognition establish a Palestinian State, or merely acknowledge an already existing State? To put it straightforward: a UN recognition does not establish a State, but rather acknowledges  an already existing fact on the ground ; the State of Palestine. Therefore, if a resolution is passed at the UN General Assembly, it would merely recognize the  existence  of the State of Palestine. 

The Palestinians will request the UN General Assembly to upgrade their status from Permanent Observer to a "non-member Observer State".  For an UNGA resolution to pass into this effect, it requires a simple majority, which means 50 percent plus one of all Member States present and participating in the voting. If the General Assembly decides to upgrade Palestine’s status to a "non-member Observer State", this would implicitly result in a collective recognition of Palestine as an  independent State . However, it is significant to emphasize that this doesn’t in any way grant Palestine membership at the United Nations. A status upgrade for Palestine would qualify it for the “all States” clause contained in international treaties. As a result, Palestine - as a State - would be able to become party to any international treaty/agreement, whether by ratification or accession. In addition, Palestine would be able to establish full diplomatic relations with ot...

  G aza is under attack

Anne Bernard : “BEIRUT, Lebanon —   Syria’s rebel fighters — who have long staked claim to the moral high ground for battling dictatorship — are losing crucial support from a public increasingly disgusted by the actions of some rebels, including poorly planned missions, senseless destruction, criminal behavior and the coldblooded killing of prisoners. The shift in mood presents more than just a public relations problem for the loosely knit militants of the Free Syrian Army, who rely on their supporters to survive the government’s superior firepower. A dampening of that support undermines the rebels’ ability to fight and win what has become a devastating war of attrition, perpetuating the violence that has left nearly 40,000 dead, hundreds of thousands in refugee camps and more than a million forced from their homes.”

“On the day after the 2010 midterm election that swept Republicans into control of the House of Representatives and decreased Democrats' majority in the Senate, senior White House adviser David Axelrod had a message for President Barack Obama . "I think they just planted the seeds of your re-election," he told his boss. "The most strident voices had seized control of the Republican Party and you knew that the nominee who would emerge either would come from that Tea Party base or would have to yield to it in order to be the nominee," Axelrod told Reuters. That nominee ended up being former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, and Obama's campaign went on to exploit his ties to the conservative wing of his party and outmaneuver him to victory in the November 6 general election. Axelrod, who left the White House to oversee strategy for the president's 2012 campaign, and fellow Democrats attribute Obama's decisive win on Tuesday to Ob...

Erdogan seems to be determined to hide behind NATO and to implicate it at any cost in the Syrian crisis.

Barack Obama and Mitt Romney: 2012 Presidential Election Results

“ BarackHussein Obama was re-elected president of the United States on Tuesday, overcoming powerful economic headwinds, a lock-step resistance to his agenda by Republicans in Congress and an unprecedented torrent of advertising as a divided nation voted to give him more time. In defeating Mitt Romney, the president carried Colorado, Iowa, Ohio, New Hampshire, Virginia and Wisconsin, a near sweep of the battleground states, and was holding a narrow advantage in Florida. The path to victory for Mr. Romney narrowed as the night wore along, with Mr. Obama winning at least 303 electoral votes. ”

President Map : Election 2012

“ Qatari   draft media law criticized by rights group:   Qatar's draft media law came under fire on Tuesday from Human Rights Watch, which singled out "loosely worded provisions" penalizing criticism of the Gulf emirate and its neighbors.   The New York-based organization urged Qatar's Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani not to approve the law as drafted, calling it "a commitment to censorship".”

يصادف اليوم الذكرى ال95 لوعد بلفور المشؤوم