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Hamas Delivers Peace Letter to President Obama
In the letter, Hamas urged Obama to visit “our ground Zero” in Gaza and bring about a “paradigm shift” in the Israel-Palestine conflict based on enlightened world opinion and international law.
“This is a people who have just been subjected to a vicious attack that left over 1,300 dead and thousands wounded, and there is not a word here about armed resistance or Zionism. They are reaching out and actively seeking a resolution to the conflict based on the findings of the world’s leading international legal bodies and human rights organizations from the United Nations and the International Court of Justice to Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch. This is a major breakthrough and the U.S. government should take advantage to begin a dialogue with Hamas.”
The letter was signed by Ahmed Yusef, Deputy Foreign Minister and hand-delivered to Benjamin, who was in Gaza headed a 66-person delegation representing 10 nations. Benjamin and representatives of CODEPINK are delivering the letter to the U.S. Embassy in Cairo today, June 4, during Obama’s visit to Egypt.
The text of the letter is below.
His Excellency President Barack Obama,
President of the United States of America.
June 3rd 2009
Dear Mr. President,
We welcome your visit to the Arab world and your administration’s initiative to bridge differences with the Arab-Muslim world.
One long-standing source of tension between the United States and this
part of the world has been the failure to resolve the Israel-Palestine
conflict.
It is therefore unfortunate that you will not visit Gaza during your
trip to the Middle East and that neither your Secretary of State nor
George Mitchell have come to hear our point of view.
We have received numerous visits recently from people of widely varied
backgrounds: U.S. Congressional representatives, European
parliamentarians, the U.N.-appointed Goldstone commission, and
grassroots delegations such as those organized by the U.S. peace group
CODEPINK.
It is essential for you to visit Gaza. We have recently passed through
a brutal 22-day Israeli attack. Amnesty International observed that
the death and destruction Gaza suffered during the invasion could not
have happened without U.S.-supplied weapons and U.S.-taxpayers’ money.
Human Rights Watch has documented that the white phosphorus Israel
dropped on a school, hospital, United Nations warehouse and civilian
neighborhoods in Gaza was manufactured in the United States. Human
Rights Watch concluded that Israel’s use of this white phosphorus was a
war crime.
Shouldn’t you see first-hand how Israel used your arms and spent your money?
Before becoming president you were a distinguished professor of law.
The U.S. government has also said that it wants to foster the rule of
law in the Arab-Muslim world.
The International Court of Justice stated in July 2004 that the whole
of the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem are occupied Palestinian
territories designated for Palestinian self-determination, and that the
Jewish settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories are illegal.
Not one of the 15 judges sitting on the highest judicial body in the world dissented from these principles.
The main human rights organizations in the world, Amnesty International
and Human Rights Watch, have issued position papers supporting the
right of the Palestinian refugees to return and compensation.
Each year in the United Nations General Assembly nearly every country
in the world has supported these principles for resolving the
Israel-Palestine conflict. Every year the Arab League puts forth a
peace proposal based on these principles for resolving the
Israel-Palestine conflict.
Leading human rights organizations such as Human Rights Watch have also
stated that Israel’s siege of Gaza is a form of collective punishment
and therefore illegal under international law.
We in the Hamas Government are committed to pursuing a just resolution
to the conflict not in contradiction with the international community
and enlightened opinion as expressed in the International Court of
Justice, the United Nations General Assembly, and leading human rights
organizations. We are prepared to engage all parties on the basis of
mutual respect and without preconditions.
However, our constituency needs to see a comprehensive paradigm shift
that not only commences with lifting the siege on Gaza and halts all
settlement building and expansion but develops into a policy of
evenhandedness based on the very international law and norms we are
prodded into adhering to.
Again, we welcome you to Gaza which would allow you to see firsthand
our ground zero. Furthermore, it would enhance the US position;
enabling you to speak with new credibility and authority in dealing
with all the parties.
Very Truly Yours,
Dr. Ahmed Yousef
Deputy of the Foreign Affairs Ministry
Former Senior Political Advisor
to Prime Minister Ismael Hanniya
- Posted in
38 Comments so far
Show AllObama doesn't give a damn about justice or international law. All he cares about is AIPAC and their money. And he quite obviously was lying through his teeth when he said he was bringing "change to America." I'm still waiting for it and I'm sure I'll still be waiting for it four years hence and, God help us, 8 years hence. And still his fanclub swoons at every policy of George Bush he continues.
Oh how astute, intelligent, and essential your thinking is my Rain-bro friend! There aint gonna be no change in the US of A until its dumbass people start to wake up, smell the coffee, and throw the REPUBLICRATS the hell out of office! Unfortunately, pinnin' our hopes on the American electorate to wake up is like waiting for the gazelle to go huntin' after the lion....you know what I'm saying? I wish I could be more positive for you my Rain-brother but that's the way it is. Peace and God bless.
Medea is running errands for Hamas now? I worked in the West Bank and was arrested and deported by the IDF. So it's not that I don't support the cause, but Medea has gone mad. Things peace activists don't do. 1) Refer to ourselves in the 3rd person in our own articles, 2) support groups, like Hamas, who take power from democratically elected leaders by murdering other Palestinians, 3) support groups like Hamas, that mindlessly lob rockets, bringing the iron fist of Israel down on starving civilians in the Gaza strip, 4) support groups like Hamas, then call ourselves "feminists."
Medea, Hamas murders other Palestinians. I met you in Baghdad, and thought you were courageous. But this is off the deep end. You are taking away from the legitimacy of the cause. The letter you delivered looks like an advertisement for CODEPINK. Remember why you started protesting war and oppression. Remember when you stood for something besides Medea Benjamin. People need to speak out against the atrocities that Israel perpetrates on Palestine, but we have to be sure that those we support are not just as bad as those we oppose.
Peace and Love
"I worked in the West Bank and was arrested and deported by the IDF."
Somehow I don't believe you. I think you're an AIPAC troll.
What were you doing in Iraq...?
What are doing that is more effective than MB to bring peace in the middle east...?
Your criticism is an empty suit... A one-sided slander of MB based on your own hangups regarding the disinfo you have swallowed about Hamas...
Obama and Hillary Clinton are obviously making a big move to get the two state solution implemented. As the US is guaranteeing the existence of Israel now, they will continue to do this after the two state solution so the Israeli territorial integrity will be protected ad infinitum. The Palistinians have been unjustly treated by the Israelis and that trteatment has been backed by the US especially the Bush Administration. Hillary and Barack are coming down hard on the Israeli settlements in the West Bank which is the precursor to an overall settlement. By starting early inhis adminidtration and with the capability of Hillary, it looks like the US might be able to finally get 'er done, but they may have to strongarm Netanyahu and not take any more of his bull.
Oregoncharles
The only trouble with this is .... it sounds like all the past "efforts" that have come and gone, never materializing into two states or even one democratic state. Considering Obama has just about completely turned his back on those he manipulated into voting for him, why would anyone think he is sincere about peace between Israel and Palestine?
I'll give you this: Hope springs eternal.
Oregoncharles
WASHINGTON (Reuters), Thursday, Jan. 3 - "U.S. President George W. Bush on Thursday called Israeli settlement expansion an "impediment" in revived peace efforts and urged the Jewish state to meet its pledge to dismantle unauthorized settler outposts."
This was reported during Bush's visit to the West Bank, not Gaza of course. Sure, Obama's rhetoric is stronger but .... this is a shell game, a manipulation, don't forget. They have to play it! After the Gaza massacre, do you think the US can get away with saying nothing in the face of immense international pressure? When I see the US cut off aid to Israel, I might have some hope about Obama's sincerity.
Yes, it's encouraging that the House of David has graciously signaled a willingness to modify the ongoing expansion of their estate, and allow the Palestinian people the opportunity to peacefully live in their own dwelling.
It's out back, behind the garage-- between the septic tank and the compost heap. You can't really see it from here.
Baby steps!
· Yr Obd't Servant
There's a flush clause in case the true owners of the Middle East need them to go.
Thank you code pink, Thank you Hamas, Thank you Obama for your stand against expansion but it is also necessary to dismantle all settlements.
Behind the Curtain the deal is Fatah crushes the honest peoples party Hamas, Israel eliminates unauthorized illegal( as opposed to authorized illegal settlements) and there is no right of return, which is an internationally mandated human right and no compensation.
But thank you Hamas and Codepink.
Go back to the 1967 borders!
Go back to the pre 1948 borders as outlined by the UN.
Israel seized territories over and above what was mandated which was a CRIME.
That step one.
Step two is to allow all Palestinians back into regions they were forced to flee from in 1948 and or compensate them for the theft of their lands.
The 1967 borders were some 40 percent bigger again then the original UN Mandate. Just as example Israel would not border on Lebanon at all.
I'm not sure that Israel has the rights to the 1948 borders anymore, if it ever had...
*** HELP STOP THE SALE OF CATERPILLAR BULLDOZERS TO ISRAEL ***
FROM: Jewish Voice for Peace (info@jewishvoiceforpeace.org)
This coming June 10, we will be at the Caterpillar annual shareholder meeting for the sixth time.
We will remind the Board of Directors that stopping the company's sales of bulldozers to Israel is not only ethical but affordable for Caterpillar. We will remind them that not changing course will be increasingly more costly to Caterpillar: Hampshire College has already divested from CAT, and so has the Church of England; other churches are considering similar steps. Twenty Israeli peace and justice organizations have come in support of divestment from Caterpillar.
We want you to be with us at the meeting. Please sign a letter to Caterpillar by June 9th, and we will hand-deliver it to the Board of Directors the next day. Help us bring thousands of letters of protest!
*TO SIGN - http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/301/t/1849/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=27360
In order to reach a real two state solution Hamas must be at the table along with Israel and Fata. Let"s stop going through the motions and help two victimized people live side by side in peace.
The problem is that a Two State solution is no longer a possibility without serious retraction by Israel. Sharon and Netanyahu have created facts on the ground that make any Palestinian state non-viable, or at least non-governable.
It's time for a one-state solution and if that is to be democratic, it can not be a theocracy. Non-Jews outnumber Jews and that demographic dynamic is accelerating. This is what scares the sh!t out of the Israeli Right. That Israel would become a secular country and that Jews would be in minority is the defeat of Zionism, it's whole goal being the creation of a Jewish State in Palestine.
And Rainborowe, do you think AIPAC has endorsed Obama's demand and repeated insistance on stopping settlements? Does that look like kowtowing to AIPAC to you? And can you imagine Bush or McShame making an effort to open dialog with the Muslim world? Is AIPAC behind that initiative?
We are WAY down in the hole, it's a long climb back.
"The problem is that a Two State solution is no longer a possibility without serious retraction by Israel. "
Makes sense. Either you have a multicultural greater Israel/Palestine or a division along the 67 borders, as the world has been demanding.
Apartheid won't work, you can't live in peace while keeping an entire population right next door in prisons.
A theocracy won't work, the majority won't willingly accept being ruled by a minority of Jews.
The more Israel perverts judaism to supposedly bless collective punishment, or ethnic cleansing or perhaps nuclear strikes, the farther Israel is from securing its future.
CV (11:54) - exactly....
"This is what scares the sh!t out of the Israeli Right. That Israel would become a secular country and that Jews would be in minority is the defeat of Zionism, it's whole goal being the creation of a Jewish State in Palestine."
as it should. as white slave owners feared abolitionists, as the apartheid regime in south africa feared the liberation of black south africans.
is there a rationale for an exclusive jewish state in palestine ? under a one state solution, jews in palestine can stay but remain civil w/ their fellow palestinians in a secular state.
indian reservations surrounded by walls and the IDF surrounding palestinian communities is a piecemeal solution that is doomed to failure.
is sharing the land so painful ? coexistence w/out a religious state.
is pride worth so much suffering ?
'Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.' - Proverbs 16:18
...peace...
Gosh - Medea again.
Points out the problems.
Makes sure nobody who has the solutions actually gets elected.
You can count on the free U.S. press not to give that letter any real play. Accoridng to the dominant U.S. political narrative, Hamas is a terrorist group against peace, and such a letter might disturb the equanimity of the U.S. public holding such views. Also, it would be double-plus bad for peace activists like Medea Benjamin to take part in delivering such peace communications--it is well known that our peace-loving states have the monopoly on all such peace negotiations and on diplomacy in general. Better just to make believe the letter never happened, and we can all safely return to the beliefs carefully crafted for us.
Josh
"Power coceded nothing without demand. It never has and never will." Frederick Douglass
I can't wait for this apartheid regime that is occupying Palestine to disappear from the pages of history... It is not a matter of if... But when...
A two state solution...? What would prevent Israel from attacking the "newly created" Palestine...???
International law...? Don't make me weep...
Israel has attacked Lebanon how many times now.??? And their legacy of land mines prevail...
Israel has bombed Iraq, Syria, Egypt, et al... With preventive strikes how many times...???
America is no better... Israel is their Mini-Me... And vetos any UN resolution attempting to hold them accountable...
I don't find Code Pink or for that matter Medea Benjamin to be of much help. They claim to be anti-war but as some have exposed, they support candidates with a D next to their name regardless of their support of wars. CP's name which carries higher clout could be used to help elect better officials who actually share their concerns. I looked at Code Pink's site and everything seems to be about women only. And before you call me a "misogynist" which I am not, their presentation makes it look like there is no room for men who share their concerns. There has been no successful results from Code Pink so far.
So the United States is supporting Israel politically, financially, and morally, even though it is a state which is a violent, militaristic, undemocratic (non-Jews do not have equal rights) theocracy. I thought that model went out of fashion with feudalism. Which is why the two state solution always seemed so bizarre to me, when one of the states is a throwback to dungeons and dragons. Which is why I am also incredulous when the U.S attacks Muslim countries while accusing them of being violent, militaristic, undemocratic theocracies. I guess the U.S. will resurrect and suport any monstrous model, regardless of the political contortions to which it must resort, if it deems it necessary to support its access to oil to feed its oil addiction.
,
Hopefully, President Obama and Vice-President Biden should make individual visits to Gaza....They should talk to the elected Leaders of Gaza.
These leaders of the "free world" should evaluate first hand the conditions in Gaza. Only Truth on the ground, can be relied upon. Only Truth can be a basis for a lasting Peace.
,
Hamas never fails to amaze me. Why do they offer to talk "without preconditions", when the world has made it clear that in order to enter negotiations they have to first recognize Israel? I just don't understand it. What do they think they are going to accomplish by this? The international community has already made it clear that this is an essential condition, and is not negotiable. Everyone supports this position, and has made it clear that they will stand by it. I mean, if Hamas doesn't want to negotiate, that's their right, they can do what they want. But to continue to insult the entire world by acting as if their offer to negotiate without first recognizing Israel hasn't already been repeatedly rejected is bizarre. It's like they're living on a different planet than everyone else. But it's their choice. Their offer will be rejected again, as it has many, many times. Obviously, and of course. It'd be insane to do anything else. The blockade of Gaza designed to protect the rest of the world will remain in place until their position recognizes the position of everyone else. No one believes that they are victims in any way, and no one is going to change their mind.
THE PLO HAS ALREADY RECOGNIZED ISRAEL AND SEE WHERE THAT GOT THEM.
IT GOT THEM MORE GENOCIDE.
You Zionists will float any lie, any distortion.
And by the way, Israel is nothing but an immoral and illegal invasion, so I don't recognize Israel either.
Your a real piece of work, you know that you Wandering idiot? The EU, Russia, the US, the UN - ALL have demanded Hamas give up their arms and recognize Israel before negotiations can start. Yet you still live in your own deluded world. And your completely childish response (in capital letters, nice....even more childish) to Mikep that PLO hasn't gotten anything for recognizing Israel is not only so incrediby stupid, it's INACCURTE! Abu-Mazen or Mahmood Abbas is the direct decendent of the PLO and Yassert Arafat. In fact, you ignoramus, his spokeseman, Saaeb Erakat, is the former spokesman for Arafat!! So the next time before you splurt out your incorrect, obviously deeply anti-Israel comments, it might do you well to learn the facts first.
And one more thing you imbecile, the purpose of commondreams is to make the world a better place, a more human place. I've read many of your comments and many of them are even anti-Jewish. If you have some kind of fucking problem with Jews, commondreams is not a place for you, so get the fuck off these posts!!!
There is nothing "anti-jewish" about taking on the zionists ruining it for the Jews. Hamas has just about as much of a right to defend itself as does Israel. Join us in telling Congress to stop giving away taxpayer money and wmds to Israel and then we'll denounce Hamas. Until then, keep your zionist mouth shut.
Everyone has a right to defend themselves but when they(Hamas) resort tolarge and small suicide attacks and provide monetary awards to the familiesof suicide volunteers that successfully completed a mission, thats not defence that is out and out murder. Life is precious and anyone who will sit there and not respect the most precious gift God gave to man so they can murder other people to prove a point is not doing ot for peace the are commiting acts of Satan.The British Empire decided to promise the Jewish Zionists a jewish homeland inside Palestine after World War 1. It wasn't the United States that made this deal and Hamas is blaming the wrong people for the palastinians being ignored back in 1918. I don't care what Obama say but the USA is a Christian country. Satan is death and Suicide so the suicide bombings are the work of Satan. NO ONE WILL CHANGE MY BELIEFS.Hamas needs to be dismantled and soon
Hilarious. You've clearly lost the arguments. You got nothing but name calling left.
I claim the PLO has recognized Israel. YOU claim "...you still live in your own deluded world."
Here's a link: http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Peace/recogn.html
But FACTS mean nothing to you Zionists.
You've got nothing but insults.
And now you're the warden of Commondreams, telling me to leave. Yes, you Zionists got nothing but the iron hand of oppression to support your side.
What would Zionism be without the Hangman?
"the whole world"?? "Everyone"?? Are you sure about that, mikep? What about Iran, for example? The blockade of Gaza is designed to protect the rest of the world? From what? Incinerated children? Those "aren't victims in any way"? "No one is going to change their mind?" I've changed my mind in the last 6 years, there's somebody. By the way, even if you think " they act like they live on a different planet" by which you're discounting all their positions as based on delusion; even if they were to be delusional, they don't lose their human rights. Be careful, your Zionist bias is showing.
the problem is YOU for sitting on your ass while AIPAC and the zionist warmongers have seized power. They must be taken down. Until you take to the streets and MAKE the change happen YOU will be to blame. I don't mean someone else. I mean YOU reading this right now. Join Medea on the street.
(I saw Obama kissing Santa Claus)
Once again, the most important work being done today is by Medea Benjamin and her brave, tireless cohorts at Code Pink. Thanks.
Now if she would only stop supporting those who will never make the change, like Obama.
It rings hollow to me on some level.
Thanks Medea.
Obama's visit to the Mideast and speech Yesterday was a good step forward.
Progressives and activists will keep the criticism and pressure on because it always helps to speak out and organize demonstrations and action.
Well See.
the most useful work is being done today is by Medea Benjamin
Thanks.
gambbit