I. HAARETZ - Hamas vows never to recognize Israel
Hamas will never recognize Israel, Gaza leader Ismail Haniyeh said Tuesday at a rally to mark the 23rd anniversary of the militant group's founding. "We say it with confidence as we said it five years ago when we formed our government, and we say it today: We will never recognize Israel," Haniyeh told a crowd in Gaza City numbering tens of thousands. Hundreds of teenagers and children, wearing off-white uniforms and green caps, marched through Gaza City, whilst Hamas officials handed out chocolates and candy with a card saying it came from "Hamas with love." Hamas leaders and activists spent around two weeks preparing for the rally. Smaller gatherings were held all over the Gaza Strip last week. "This year the rally is different from previous rallies. We want to send a message to the world and to the Zionist enemy that Hamas movement is a powerful Islamic Palestinian movement which can never be uprooted," a rally organizer, who gave his name as Abu Hamza, said. Hamas was founded by Sheikh Ahmed Yassin in Gaza on December 14, 1987, several days after the first Palestinian uprising, or Intifada, broke out against Israel. Yassin was assassinated by Israel in March 2004. In 2006 the movement participated in the Palestinian legislative elections and emerged triumphant, defeating President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah party, which until then had been the natural party of Palestinian government. The US and western countries placed Hamas under a diplomatic boycott because of its refusal to renounce violence, honor past Israeli-Palestinian agreements, and recognize Israel's right to exist. Fierce internecine fighting in June 2007, between Hamas and Fatah in the Gaza Strip, saw the Islamist movement rout security officials loyal to Abbas and the Palestinian Authority and seize control of the territory, and cause Gaza and the Fatah-run West Bank to be divided politically as well as geographically. Attempts to reconcile the two movements have so far failed. A Hamas communique distributed at the rally stressed that "armed resistance is a legal right for the Palestinian people and we will never abandon this legal right until all our land and all our holy sites are liberated. We will never recognize what is called Israel."However, some Hamas leaders have said that while they will not recognize Israel, they are prepared to accept a temporary solution based on establishing an independent Palestinian state on the territories occupied by Israel in 1967, with East Jerusalem as its capital and without settlements.
Europe on Monday reaffirmed its readiness to recognise a Palestinian state at an "appropriate" time, stopping short of outright recognition despite mounting pressure to break the Middle East impasse. Pressure has built on the European Union to flex muscle after Israel refused to extend a moratorium on settlements, with 26 former European leaders last week demanding sanctions, and Argentina and Uruguay joining Brazil in recognising an independent Palestinian state. "There is growing frustration with Israel after its refusal to commit to a new settlements freeze," a European diplomat told AFP as negotiators quibbled and clashed over a joint EU stand. But after long and prickly negotiations, foreign ministers meeting in Brussels adopted a statement that falls short of ultimatums and breaks little new ground. Going into the talks, Cyprus Foreign Minister Markos Kyprianou said the recognition of a Palestinian state had "always been on the table. But at this stage it's too early." German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle said it was vital to avoid action that could compromise Israeli-Palestinian talks, "including unilateral moves". The EU statement expresses "regret" at Israel's rejection of a new freeze, describing settlements as "illegal" and "an obstacle to peace." It underlines EU support for "a negotiated solution" between the two sides "within the 12 months set by the Quartet" of international mediators. The EU will not recognise changes to pre-1967 borders, including with regard to Jerusalem, other than agreed by the parties. It also demands that a way be found to resolve the status of Jerusalem "as the future capital of two states" and calls for a just solution to the refugee problem.
III. RIANOVOSTI - OSCE to hold monitoring of Nagorn[o] Karabakh ceasefire
Officials from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe will conduct on Tuesday a regular monitoring of the contact line between Armenian and Azerbaijani troops, the Armenian Defense Ministry said. OSCE officials regularly monitor the ceasefire on the border with the disputed Nagorny Karabakh region to prevent a sudden escalation of tension between the two countries and the last monitoring was held in November. Armenia and Azerbaijan frequently accuse each other of violating the 1994 ceasefire agreement in the disputed area. Shooting between the Armenian and Azerbaijani troops sometimes result in soldiers' deaths. The conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over Nagorny Karabakh, a predominantly ethnic Armenian region, first erupted in 1988, when the region claimed independence from Azerbaijan to join Armenia. Over 30,000 people are estimated to have died on both sides between 1988 and 1994, when a ceasefire was agreed. Nagorny Karabakh has remained in Armenian control and tensions between Azerbaijan and Armenia have persisted.
IV. BLOOMBERG - Poll: Greece’s Papandreou Top Choice Among Current Leaders
Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou was preferred by four out of 10 Greeks as the top choice to run the country, according to an opinion poll. Forty two percent of people polled said Papandreou was the most competent of current political leaders, according to the survey by Public Issue, which was broadcast on Skai television yesterday and published in Kathimerini today. Public Issue surveyed 1,006 people between Dec. 2-8, and main opposition leader Antonis Samaras was favored by 20 percent of respondents as the best choice to lead the country, with 34 percent of those polled saying neither politician would be a good choice. The poll comes as the Greek parliament prepares to vote on changes to labor contracts and wage cuts at state enterprises to meet conditions of a 110-billion-euro ($146 billion) European- led bailout. When asked which government would do the best job governing, Papandreou’s socialist Pasok party was selected by 27 percent. The conservative New Democracy party received 7 percent of the vote, while 60 percent said neither party would do a good job governing the country. A total of 20 percent of respondents said they were satisfied with the government’s performance, compared to 18 percent in November, the poll showed. Almost seven in ten Greeks, 66 percent, said the economic situation would worsen. Public Issue said the margin of error was 3.2 percentage points.
Bilateral cooperation between Serbia and Russia and their cooperation in the international domain, including the Kosmet issue, will be in the focus of attention during the talks of the two heads of diplomacy, communicated the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, on the eve of Vuk Jeremic’ visit to Moscow on Wednesday. In view of the Russian-Serbian cooperation in the international plan it relates mostly to the solving of problems in the West Balkans. Russia and Serbia are adhering to the principled stance that the solution for Kosmet must be found through the dialog of Belgrade and Pristina, in line with the UN Security Council’s resolution 1244, it is underlined in the statement of the Russian ministry.
The U.S. government is suing a suburban Chicago school district for refusing to grant a Muslim teacher unpaid leave to go on a Hajj pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia. Attending the annual pilgrimage to the holy city of Mecca once in a lifetime is one of the five central tenets of the Islamic faith. Safoorah Khan, a middle school teacher in the Berkeley school district, about 15 miles west of Chicago, applied for an unpaid leave of absence in 2008 to go on the Hajj, but her request was denied. She ultimately quit her job to attend and later filed a complaint with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. The U.S. Justice Department filed a complaint Monday in a Chicago federal court alleging that the school district violated the Civil Rights Act of 1964 by refusing Khan's time-off request and failing to accommodate her religious practice. Khan began teaching math at the district's McArthur Middle School in 2007. According to court documents, she wrote to the school superintendent in August 2008, asking for an unpaid leave from Dec. 1-19 that year to travel to Mecca on the pilgrimage. The district denied her request, noting that the "purpose of her leave was not related to her professional duties," the Justice Department said. The legal challenge filed Monday states that "because Berkeley School District denied her a religious accommodation, the district compelled Ms. Khan to choose between her job and her religious beliefs, and thus forced her discharge." The lawsuit aims to prevent school districts from discriminating against teachers on the basis of religion. Khan also wants her job back, along with back pay and other damages for pain and suffering, the Chicago Sun-Times reported. The district did not return a message left by The Associated Press seeking comment, the news agency said.
In the heart of the Judean desert, near Jericho, lies the fifth-century St. George’s Monastery. It is a Greek Orthodox monastery, one of the most ancient in Israel and one of six monasteries scattered across the Judean desert. Carved in sand, it stands among the mountains in a place with no cell phone reception, where the perfect silence is disturbed only by the sound of bells. The road to the monastery is not an easy one to take. A curving, two kilometer-long path, it is not designed for the weak-of-knees. But for three years, access to the monastery had been blocked for another reason. As a result of a big earthquake and flooding, the driven road that leads to the area was completely cracked and destroyed. It opened again on Tuesday (Nov. 30). The mission to fix the road was given to the Israel Civil Administration in the Judea and Samaria region, the Ministry of Tourism and the Ministry of Transport and Road Safety of Israel. Over the course of five months, they worked on reconstruction, repairs and widening the road. The budget amounted to 1.76 million shekels (approx. $490,000). But the value of such reconstruction, according to general consensus, was much, much more. “Thousands of pilgrims come here every year,” said Archbishop Aristarchos, one of the leaders of the Greek Orthodox community in Israel. “Like a flock of sheep, they congregate to visit the monastery. But they’re not the only ones who visit. Israelis and Palestinians both come to this place. Secular tourists as well. The monastery warmly welcomes anyone who wishes to visit.” Col. Raed Mansour, Deputy Head of the Civil Administration, added that, “The Administration volunteered to renovate the road with government ministries. We did so with great devotion, out of recognition for the importance of the monastery and with desire to allow worshipers and tourists access to reach it. But our plans don’t begin and end here. The Civil Administration developed and promoted tourism projects all over the Judea and Samaria region in recent years. Over 1.2 million tourists visited these places. In the light of all that has been done, I am proud to inaugurate this road today.” Ministry of Tourism director general Noaz Bar-Nir, discussed the personal aspect of the inauguration of the road. “As a teenager I would take walks in the Judea Desert a lot,” he said. “I would always look at the monastery with deep appreciation and awe. I’m proud to be part of reopening the road to the public – to Israelis, pilgrims and Palestinians... We are grateful to and would like to thank the Israeli authorities for their understanding of the importance of this place,” concluded the Archbishop. “I bless your arrival, all of you. May anyone who comes to this place be inspired by its peace and quiet. May we be able to live here in harmony and friendship.” To read more about St. George Monastery on Wikipedia, please click here.