UK Foreign Secretary William Hague (pictured above left) has received “100% support” from Prime Minister David Cameron, after the beleaguered Mr Hague decided to speak out about his private life because he could no longer put up with allegations about his sexuality. Mr Hague also received the backing of his local constituency Conservative party after issuing a statement yesterday in which he denied having had an “improper” (i.e. gay) relationship with his special adviser, Christopher Myers (pictured above right), who resigned as a result of the “pressure” put on his family due to ”untrue and malicious allegations” circulating on the internet. Now far be it for this blog to speculate about the fact that Mr Hague and Mr Myers regularly...

Israeli and Palestinian leaders begin framework talks on a peace deal which could encompass borders, Jerusalem, Jewish settlements and securityThe Israeli and Palestinian leaders, Binyamin Netanyahu and Mahmoud Abbas, met for the first day of direct talks in Washington today and agreed that a peace deal could be achieved within a year.George Mitchell, the White House envoy who joined the negotiations, said the two leaders decided to begin putting together a framework agreement on all major issues – such as borders, Jerusalem, Jewish settlements and security – that will "establish the fundamental compromises necessary" to flesh out a comprehensive peace deal.Mitchell said Netanyahu and Abbas agreed to meet again in a fortnight in the Middle East and every two weeks after that. The US...

Original Home Page – And another very early post from this blog Current Latest Page All Contents of Site – Index Sign the Ban Blair-Baiting petition here Comment at end 2nd September 2010 While our press were devouring “A Journey”, Tony Blair was the only European quietly nibbling around the “working dinner” table at Washington last night. Barack Obama holds a working dinner with King Abdullah, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, President Mahmoud Abbas, Quartet Representative Tony Blair and President Hosni Mubarak at the White House. Picture: AP Source: AP OUR Man – still in the company of Presidents, Prime Ministers and Kings. Not that you’ll hear much about this in the British press.  That does not make...

Israeli and Palestinian leaders begin direct talks, as Netanyahu describes Abbas as 'partner for peace' despite recent attacksIsrael's prime minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, has said he is looking "to find a historic compromise" that will bring peace to the Middle East for generations as he begins direct talks with the Palestinian leader, Mahmoud Abbas, in Washington today.The two leaders met Barack Obama yesterday, when the US president launched his initiative to forge a peace agreement between the Israelis and Palestinians within a year, which he described as a "moment of opportunity that may not soon come again".Obama said he recognised the depths of passions and mistrust and that the task would be difficult after so many failed efforts. But he said the occupation and accompanying...

Original Home Page – And another very early post from this blog Current Latest Page All Contents of Site – Index Sign the Ban Blair-Baiting petition here Comment at end 26th August 2010 Via CifWatch comes this from PalWatch PA and Abbas honor terrorist planner of Olympics massacre Abbas at the funeral of Al-Hindi (Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Aug. 19, 2010) Excerpt: After Amin Al-Hindi, one of the senior planners of the terror operation, died this week, the Palestinian Authority glorified him and his terror attack. The official PA daily described his participation in the Olympic massacre, saying he was “one of the stars who sparkled… at the sports stadium in Munich.” The attack itself was referred to as “just one of many shining stations” in his life. The...

Binyamin Netanyahu and Mahmoud Abbas will open negotiations on 'core issues' in Washington next monthIsrael and the Palestinians are to resume direct peace talks next month under pressure from Washington to break years of political stalemate.The US secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, is expected to announce the first direct negotiations since 2008 later today. The Israeli prime minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, and the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, will fly to Washington early next month for an initial meeting.The Americans say the process will have a one-year deadline to resolve core issues that eluded agreement in the nearly two decades of on-off talks since the 1993 Oslo peace accords. These include the borders of a Palestinian state, the division of Jerusalem, Israeli demands for...

UK has promised increase in aid to troubled area as wellPresident Barack Obama said today the US would send $400m of aid to the Palestinian territories following 10 days of international focus on Gaza, which Israel has blockaded for more than three years.The announcement came as Obama met the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, in Washington to discuss the progress of proximity talks between Israel and the Palestinians, as well as the dire situation in Gaza. Most US aid currently goes to the West Bank. The international community has largely focused on building up Abbas's authority over recent years, and Gaza, whose de facto Hamas government is not recognised by the US or the UK, has been marginalised.But since Israel launched its disastrous assault on a flotilla of ships attempting to...

• Khaled Meshal says US 'not brave enough to do so openly'• Hamas leader praises Russian president for meeting himThe United States is sending a succession of envoys to engage with Hamas but lacks the bravery to talk to the Islamist movement openly, its leader, Khaled Meshal, said in an interview with the Guardian.Meshal praised President Dmitry Medvedev of Russia for meeting him in Damascus and the Syrian president, Bashar al-Assad, for hosting the discussion 10 days ago. He told Medvedev that the US was also talking to him. "I thanked him for that meeting and told him the Americans contact us, but are not brave enough to do so openly," said Meshal. "I am confident that in the very near future, everyone will realise that they will have to deal with Hamas."The claim that the US is...

Exclusive: Americans consider withholding veto protecting Israel at UN if building goes ahead at Ramat ShlomoThe US has given private assurances to encourage the Palestinians to join indirect Middle East peace talks, including an offer to consider allowing UN security council condemnation of any significant new Israeli settlement activity, the Guardian has learned.The assurances were given verbally in a meeting a week ago between a senior US diplomat and the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas. Since then – and after months of US diplomacy – it appears Israeli and Palestinian leaders are close to starting indirect "proximity" talks, which would be the first resumption of the Middle East peace process since Israel's war in Gaza began in late 2008.There was no official confirmation of...

Indirect negotiations mediated by US likely to start within weeks after thaw in East Jerusalem settlement disputeIsraeli and Palestinian leaders are close to starting a new round of US-sponsored indirect peace negotiations that could begin within weeks.The long-awaited proximity talks would be the first between the two sides since Israel's war in Gaza began in late 2008. But even though there have been nearly two decades of negotiations, this time the talks would only be indirect, with the US envoy to the Middle East, George Mitchell, shuttling between Jerusalem and Ramallah.Danny Ayalon, Israel's deputy foreign minister, said today the talks could start within a fortnight. "There is no final date yet, but I estimate that it is a matter of some two weeks," Ayalon, who was in Washington,...

Abbas meeting planned after visit to Netanyahu as Palestinians offer hope of indirect negotiationsGeorge Mitchell, the US Middle East envoy, today launched a fresh effort to win agreement for indirect talks between Israeli and Palestinian leaders.Mitchell was on his first visit since the so-called "proximity talks" collapsed last month when Israeli officials announced planning approval for hundreds of homes in an East Jerusalem settlement.He met the Israeli prime minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, in Jerusalem and was due to meet Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian president, in Ramallah tonight.Mitchell told Netanyahu that Washington supported Israel's security and wanted a peace agreement that would create an independent Palestinian state. "That has been American policy. That is American policy....

Netanyahu needs all the support he can get. But he still turned Biden's visit into a diplomatic fiascoIsrael's prime minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, has a bad habit: when things appear to be moving in the right direction for him, he stumbles upon some stupid political landmine, raising doubts about his leadership and credibility.A series of blunders had ruined his first term in the 1990s, and on his way back to power Netanyahu promised that he had changed. For a year, he stayed away from trouble, avoiding unscripted public remarks, giving no interviews, and being attentive to other politicians' needs and interests. But this week, he did it again, ruining the visit of American vice president Joe Biden with an official announcement of a plan to build 1,600 new housing units in Ramat Shlomo, a...

Approval for building of 112 new flats in Beitar Illit comes despite partial curbs on settlement construction announced by Israeli governmentThe Israeli defence ministry today authorised further construction in a Jewish settlement on the occupied West Bank.The decision came prior to the arrival in Israel of the US vice-president, Joe Biden, who is expected to announce a new round of indirect peace talks.Approval for 112 new flats in Beitar Illit, an ultra-Orthodox settlement near Bethlehem, was given despite a 10-month partial curb on settlement construction announced by the Israeli government under heavy US pressure in November.The decision to approve the building work appeared to be an attempt to appease members of Israel's rightwing coalition government, but was greeted with dismay by...

Indirect negotiations mark first return to peace process since Gaza warhe US vice-president, Joe Biden, is due in Israel tomorrow for an American diplomatic initiative to start indirect negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians.The new round of so-called "proximity talks" could be announced as early as tomorrow, but there is scepticism on both sides about the chance of any agreement. George Mitchell, the US special envoy to the Middle East, will shuttle between Israeli and Palestinian leaders for four months hoping to find common ground. Although the talks are low-key, they mark the first return to a peace process since Israel's war in Gaza more than a year ago.Mitchell flew into Israel on Saturday night and met with Ehud Barak, the Israeli defence minister, for 90 minutes. He saw...

Arab governments back talks between Palestinian president and Israel, brokered by the USMahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian president, has been given four months by Arab governments to try indirect peace negotiations with Israel, brokered by the US.Arab League ambassadors meeting in Cairo today gave their backing to so-called "proximity talks" in which American diplomats will shuttle between the two sides to find common ground and bridge gaps. Israel swiftly welcomed the decision.Abbas's Fatah movement is expected to endorse the idea this weekend, paving the way for the first negotiations between Palestinians and Israelis after an impasse of more than a year.New talks will also be a second chance for Barack Obama, who has so far disappointed Arabs and others by failing to make good on his...

Footage of naked Rafiq Husseini broadcast on Israeli TVPalestinian officials yesterday rallied around a top aide to Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas amid other calls for him to step down after a video surfaced showing him in the nude in an alleged attempt to trade his influence for sex.The footage of Rafiq Husseini, shot by a former Palestinian intelligence officer, has raised an uproar in conservative Palestinian society. In the video, broadcast by Israeli TV earlier this week, Husseini is shown undressing in a bedroom and calling out to an unseen woman, heard speaking off camera, to join him. "Do I turn off the light or do you? What is the procedure?" Husseini is heard asking the woman. The former Palestinian intelligence officer, Fahmi Shabaneh, said he secretly took the footage in...

Exclusive interview: Palestinian president hints at mediated talks to restart moribund peace processIsrael's continuing colonisation of the West Bank is leading to a "one-state solution", the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, has told the Guardian, while indicating that he may be poised this week to accept a US proposal for "proximity talks" with Israel through American mediators.In an exclusive interview, the Palestinian Authority president also insisted he would not allow any return to armed resistance; offered direct negotiations with Israel in exchange for a complete three-month settlement freeze; claimed he had come close to a comprehensive agreement with former Israeli leader Ehud Olmert that went beyond anything negotiated by Yasser Arafat under President Bill Clinton; and...

If you hadn’t realised this is the end times, then reading stories like this in the news should help you realise it …. Article from here - “JERUSALEM, May 20 (UPI) — A council for Israeli-Palestinian reconciliation will be housed at the site of the altar built to mark Roman peace, the mayor of Rome said Tuesday. Gianni Alemanno made the announcement after a meeting with Israeli President Shimon Peres, the Italian news agency ANSA reported. The office is to be at the Ara Pacis, built 2,000 years ago by the Emperor Augustus in honor of the Pax Romana. ”The idea is to set up a permanent office at the Ara Pacis, providing a permanent, complete council tasked with working towards reconciliation,” Alemanno said. Alemanno planned to discuss the proposal with...

“Whoever thinks that through concessions peace will be achieved is mistaken. He is only inviting pressure and more wars.” - Israel’s right-wing foreign minister Avigdor Lieberman, who stunned diplomats in his first speech yesterday when he rejected the past year of US-led negotiations and said that a previous commitment Israel made to Palestinian statehood “had no validity”.  A foreign ministry [...]...

UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown (pictured above, having his make-up applied before disembarking from his plane) has had his attempts to portray himself during his US visit as a global leader in a time of crisis dealt a blow by White House planners - and Washington’s worst snowstorm in years. Downing Street officials were disappointed to discover that the PM would not, as had been widely reported, hold a joint press conference with President Obama after their talks at the White House yesterday. Instead, the White House press office announced what it called a “pool spray” - a few shouted questions from selected agency reporters as the two men sat down for talks and photographers clicked away. After representations from British diplomats, it was agreed to hold open it up...

Once the prospect of the Annapolis conference was placed on the table by Condoleezza Rice; and the Palestinian Authority under Mr Mahmoud Abbas expressed a willingness to compromise their core demands, the Israeli State and its US financiers moved the goal posts to gain additional advantage; and at long last we are beginning to see emerging Ehud Olmert and G W Bush’s final game plan for the Palestinians. The Foreign Minister of Israel Tzipi Livni's pre-Annapolis statement signaled this fact when she said "It must be clear to everyone that the State of Israel is a national homeland for the Jewish people,”-- “the future Palestinian state would provide a solution to Palestinians worldwide, including Israeli Arabs in their struggle for national expression,”--- “the national demands...