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Fatah on verge of split ahead of Palestinian election that might still be nixed (Haaretz)
Amira Hass writes: "Nasser al-Kidwa – a longstanding critic of Abbas’ leadership – revealed the open secret of an alternative slate in the works and called on the jailed Marwan Barghouti to join him."
"Kidwa, a member of the Fatah Central Committee, has in recent years been an internal critic of Abbas’ authoritarian control of Fatah and the PA."
"Barghouti’s close associates told Haaretz that nothing had changed in his position following the visit, and that he has not budged from his intention to run for president"
"The election of a security prisoner as president could change the rules of the game and promote an unfamiliar dynamic in the balance of power with Israel."
"This could be a creative and subversive move, of the type foreign to the calcified Fatah leadership...Because the problem is not only in Abbas and the internal dictatorship he has fostered, but also in the structural problems of Fatah and the PA as a product of the Oslo Accords, which made this dictatorship possible."
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Israel: use of Covid vaccines in prisoner swap deal sparks row (The Guardian)
Oliver Holmes writes: "Secret deal reportedly involved Israel paying Russia $1.2m to send Sputnik jabs to Syria."
"Israel’s agreement to secretly provide coronavirus vaccines for the Syrian regime to sweeten a prisoner swap deal has raised questions about whether limited global vaccine supplies could see doses become a new form of diplomatic currency."
"While it is not clear how many doses were bought, the deal is highly contentious, not least due to questions about whether Bashar al-Assad’s regime in Damascus will distribute them equally."
"It has also spotlighted Israel’s unwillingness to provide the millions of Palestinians who live under its control with significant doses, especially if it is quietly agreeing to secure potentially hundreds of thousands for an enemy state."
"An unconfirmed report on Israel’s Army Radio on Sunday suggested the prime minister was now considering using vaccines as a tool to improve relations with rival Arab countries."
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Israel’s coronavirus vaccines wielding political power (Al Jazeera)
"Forget about oil and arms. Coronavirus vaccines are emerging as the newest currency of choice in the Middle East."
"Israel’s reopening of its economy, combined with a murky prisoner swap with Syria and the arrival of a batch of vaccines in the Gaza Strip, have all underscored how those with access to the vaccines have political power in the turbulent region."
"Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been at the forefront of this trend, pinning his re-election hopes on the success of his campaign to vaccinate Israel’s adult population. At the same time, he has offered rewards to those who vaccinate and punishments to those who do not."
"Israel has faced international criticism for largely excluding Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip from the vaccination campaign."
"Yet Netanyahu reportedly showed little hesitation in agreeing to pay Russia some $1.2m to buy coronavirus vaccines for archenemy Syria as part of a deal last week to release an Israeli woman held captive in Damascus."
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Hawks in Iran and Israel agree: Biden’s bid to salvage nuclear deal must not succeed (The Guardian)
Simon Tisdall writes: "With elections looming in both states, and hardliners out to ensure the collapse of the 2015 deal, time is running short for the US president to save it."
"For sworn enemies, Iran and Israel have much in common. Both are regional powers, projecting their interests beyond their borders. Both are beholden, in different ways, to shifting US policy. Both have secretive nuclear programmes."
"And both are heading towards national elections – in Israel next month, in Iran in June – that could decide whether cold-hearted enmity turns into hot-blooded war."
"In Iran, hardline candidates and members of the Majlis (parliament), focused on June’s presidential poll, oppose any kind of rapprochement with America."
"Strong opposition to the deal, however Biden plays it, is evident in Israel, where the hard-right prime minister and close Trump ally, Benjamin Netanyahu, is fighting for his political life."
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VIDEO Saturday Night Live Vs Apartheid Apologists (IMEU – Twitter)
Omar Baddar: "Predictably, a lot of the outrage directed at this joke takes aim at the fact that it's not technically accurate. But jokes are - by definition - parodies of reality."
"Here is the reality that this joke is bringing to light:
"Israel is a military occupier in the West Bank where Jewish settlers who illegally take over Palestinian lands are considered Israeli citizens and can receive Israeli vaccinations, while millions of Palestinians living in the same occupied West Bank live under Israeli military dictatorship and Jim Crow-style segregation without any basic rights."
"They are not considered citizens of the state that governs their lives and they are not vaccinated by the Israeli government. And neither are millions of Palestinians in Gaza who are also occupied by Israel and live under a suffocating military siege that cuts them off from the outside world."
"As for Palestinian citizens of Israel, they are indeed vaccinated by the Israeli government but they are denied equality in countless other ways..."
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Anera provides humanitarian assistance and sustainable development to advance the well-being of refugees and other vulnerable communities in Palestine, Lebanon and Jordan.
Anera works on the ground with partners in Palestine (West Bank and Gaza), Lebanon and Jordan. They mobilize resources for immediate emergency relief and for sustainable, long-term health, education, and economic development. |
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