Greenstock on Hamas misrepresentation

[jesuitsdidit]

Former senior British diplomat Sir Jeremy Greenstock, who has made direct contact with Hamas as part of his work with the charity Forward Thinking, discusses what can be gained from talking to Hamas.

Interview with Sir Jeremy Greenstock on Radio 4, 12 Jan 09


Live interview by James Naughtie, of Jeremy Greenstock:

Asked about Blair’s position on negotiating with terrorist organisations:

JG: “I think he (TB) knows better than almost anybody how it can be done, because he did it with Sein Fein. … this is a regime about which a lot of inaccurate statements are made … Hamas is not beholden to Iran … it is not trying to set up a Taliban in Gaza … not intent on destruction of Israel … a rhetorical statement of resistance …

JN: So their charter on … the extermination of Israel … is effectively a piece of paper for many of the people who operate inside Hamas?

JG: It was drawn up by a Hamas-linked imam some years ago and has never been adopted since Hamas was elected Palestinian government in January 2006 as part of their political programme. This is a grievance-based organisation desperate to end the occupation … the tragedy about what is happening is that the cessation of rocket fire on Israel would have been possible if Israel had lived up to its obligations under the June ceasefire to open the crossings. Now the opening of the crossings has got to be part of a solution to this awful military state of affairs now. It was available earlier and should have been done earlier as part of a political advance. That’s the tragedy of this current situation.

JN: It was an interesting exchange that I had with Mark Regev, the Israeli government spokesman earlier .. he was Israeli suggesting that Hamas had to follow UN SC resolutions and I said well, presumably that means that you accept that Israel has to do the same and he ended up saying “yes”. Well that opens up some interesting possibilities does it not?

JG: Absolutely right … I’ve spent most of my diplomatic career defending the security of Israel and making it clear to Arabs that they’ve got to recognise the right of Israel to live in security. But look at those illegal settlements still growing after all those resolutions form the UN. I can’t think of er… obviously Hamas are breaking international law by throwing rockets at civilians but they’ve not broken any UN resolutions. Israel have broken many.

JN: Do you believe that there ARE channels which may be being used at the moment but could be used more productively and perhaps more directly that could find a way of bringing some kind of agreement between Israel and Hamas on a way forward which would get us into a situation where, perhaps something like, and you raised the parallel with Northern Ireland, something like the transformation of the IRA simply as an army into something which was more concerned with politics and progress might happen with Hamas?

JG: Yes I do believe that and indeed what we have been doing with Hamas has been declared transparently to the Israeli government who have encouraged us to do this as has the British government as a way of indirect negotiations. There were negotiations going on when the shelling started. I’m afraid the timing of this is very much related to the need for Israeli politicians to defend their populations before the elections. Hamas feels exactly the same. It has to keep its electorate with it by showing that it is a resistance movement. There ARE negotiations going on, at least there were before this started. They CAN recontinue although it’s more difficult. And remember also … that the rockets are being thrown by the Fatah militants, Al Aqsa brigades, by Islamic Jihad. By people who are NOT Hamas. None of this comes out in public. The truth is not currently being told about the current situation.”

SOURCE BBC Radio 4 12.01.09

my inclusion of BOLD.

[jesuitsdidit]

from PRESSTV

Greenstock: Israel not helping security
Fri, 23 Jan 2009 23:13:31 GMT

In an exclusive, interview with Press TV, Jeremy Greenstock a former UK ambassador to the UN talked about Gaza's humanitarian crisis.

The Press Tv correspondent asked Greenstock about the siege that Gaza is experiencing , he replied that It is a bitter situation in Gaza and the Israelis are not guaranteeing their own a security by making Gaza a prison and bombing civilians.

Greenstock recommended a dialogue to resolve the crises.

The Press TV correspondent stated that there is a lot resistance about talking to Hamas, Greenstock said that this opposition is because Hamas seems more dangerous than Fatah, and it is perceived as being prepared to use violence against Israel.

Greenstock went on to explain that misrepresentations about Hamas and noted that the fact of its being Islamist in nature means it is evaluated just like all-Qaeda's organization.

Greenstock was emphatic that this is quite incorrect to view the Palestinian resistance movement from that angle and said that in Palestine Hamas grew out of the failure of Fatah to deliver the Palestinian popular desire to be free from occupation.

Greenstock also dismissed the idea that Tehran is supporting Hamas or that Hamas is getting its orders from Iran.

When queried on the outstanding misconception concerning Hamas, Greenstock said that even Tony Blair, the Quartet's Middle East envoy has lumped al-Qaeda, Lebanon's Hezbollah and Hamas in the same category.

Greenstock said that Hamas is a resistance movement that is fighting against occupying forces. He also indicated that it is basically incorrect to compare theses organizations because they all operate and were created by very different circumstances and history even though they share the same religion.

http://www.presstv.ir/Detail.aspx?id=83457&sectionid=351020202

[jesuitsdidit]

from the Daily Mirror

SHOOTING MUST STOP.. TALKING MUST START
Sir Jeremy Greenstock Former Uk Ambassador To The United Nations
13/01/2009

After 18 days of siege, Israel prepares final assault

The tragedy of the situation in Gaza is that this terrible outbreak of violence was never necessary in the first place.

Last summer, Hamas initiated and accepted the terms of a six-month ceasefire between them and Israel.

Israel agreed to open up the border crossings if rockets ceased to land on Israeli towns. The rockets stopped for five months but the crossings did not open. Gaza became a prison for its inhabitants, one without food or medicine.

On November 4, Israel sent tanks in to prevent the use of smuggling tunnels, killing Palestinians.

The ceasefire nevertheless continued, but was not renewed by Hamas in December - they saw no chance of the crossings being opened. An arrangement would have been possible at that point - if only the Israelis were prepared to allow much-needed food, fuel and medicine into Gaza.

But talks which could have led to that were shattered by Israel's air campaign.

For two years I have been with an organisation which is trying to encourage Hamas to see their rejection of the Israeli occupation as a political rather than a military campaign.

The potential for a diplomatic solution has never been explored. It is too convenient for Jerusalem and Washington to label Hamas a terror organisation and shoot from a distance.

Hamas is a grievance-based political organisation with Islamic credentials, which is committed to freeing Palestine from the Israeli occupation. They are capable, in time, of accepting a two-state solution.

Hamas won the fair and open election in Palestine in 2006.

They won because the people thought Fatah, the party of the rejected government, had failed them. Fatah had not achieved a Palestinian state, despite renouncing violence and recognising Israel. This is crucial to understanding Hamas - they won't recognise Israel until sure of the world's commitment to a just solution to the Palestine issue.

Hamas are not the creatures of Iran but they will accept money and arms from Tehran in the absence of any other source of support.

Adversaries of al-Qaeda, they are in no way interested in setting up a "Taliban-style" government.

Hamas are wrong to target Israeli civilians but no solution is possible unless they are involved.

The only way for Israel to achieve security is to get to political grips with its enemy.

It is way past the time for the shooting to stop and the talking to start.

The potential for a diplomatic solution has never been explored.

It is too convenient to label Hamas a terror organisation and shoot from a distance.

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/top-stories/2009/01/13/shooting-must-stop-talking-must-start-115875-21037287/

[jesuitsdidit]

Interview with Sir Jeremy Greenstock on Radio 4, 12 Jan 09

And remember also … that the rockets are being thrown by the Fatah militants, Al Aqsa brigades, by Islamic Jihad. By people who are NOT Hamas. None of this comes out in public. The truth is not currently being told about the current situation."

my question is this, if we can be misled so clearly on THIS situation, what is the REAL position regarding Iran's nuclear programme?

[jesuitsdidit]

video of Greenstock interview with PRESSTV

click on video icon

Greenstock: Imprisoning people in Gaza is pointless (1) (10 mins)

http://www.presstv.ir/Detail.aspx?id=83344&sectionid=3510302


Greenstock: Imprisoning people in Gaza is pointless (2) (15 mins)

http://www.presstv.ir/Detail.aspx?id=83346&sectionid=3510302

[jesuitsdidit]

bbc radio 4 interview with Greenstock 120109

go to

0834
Is the job of Middle East envoy Tony Blair being circumscribed by the fact that he cannot talk to Hamas? Former senior British diplomat Sir Jeremy Greenstock, who has made direct contact with Hamas as part of his work with the charity Forward Thinking, discusses what can be gained from talking to the militant Islamic organisation.

Greenstock begins at 02:58

http://news.bbc.co.uk/today/hi/today/newsid_7823000/7823430.stm

[jesuitsdidit]

from Daily Mirror 22/01/2009

Barack Obama inauguration: A fresh hope for all in middle east
By Victoria Ward In Jerusalem

excerpt:

Zbigniew Brzezinski, who was part of the team assembled by Obama to advise on foreign policy, said he needs a "serious policy" for resolving the "destabilising" conflict.

He told Radio 4: "The only way he can do so is by stating clearly what are the fundamental elements of a fair settlement, because neither the Israelis nor the Palestinians will ever make the first serious move."

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/top-stories/2009/01/22/barack-obama-inauguration-a-fresh-hope-for-all-in-middle-east-115875-21060412/

this is the only way forward imo..

[jesuitsdidit]

from Daily Mirror 22/01/2009

Barack Obama inauguration: A fresh hope for all in middle east
By Victoria Ward In Jerusalem

excerpt:

Zbigniew Brzezinski, who was part of the team assembled by Obama to advise on foreign policy, said he needs a "serious policy" for resolving the "destabilising" conflict.

Zbigniew Brzezinski is the man behind Obama he wrote The Grand Chessboard: American Primacy and its Geostrategic Imperatives. he was United States National Security Advisor 1977-81 under Carter

he also wrote Between Two Ages: America's Role in the Technetronic Era, 1970
quotes
The technotronic era involves the gradual appearance of a more controlled society. Such a society would be dominated by an elite, unrestrained by traditional values (like liberty and democracy*). Soon it will be possible to assert almost continuous surveillance over every citizen and maintain up-to-date complete files containing even the most personal information about the citizen. These files will be subject to instantaneous retrieval by the authorities.
- Between Two Ages: America's Role in the Technetronic Era, 1970


"In the technotronic society the trend would seem to be towards the aggregation of the individual support of millions of uncoordinated citizens, easily within the reach of magnetic and attractive personalities exploiting the latest communications techniques to manipulate emotions and control reason."
- Between Two Ages : America's Role in the Technetronic Era - 1970

*my words

quotes from The Grand Chessboard-

"Ever since the continents started interacting politically, some five hundred years ago, Eurasia has been the center of world power."- (p. xiii)

"It is imperative that no Eurasian challenger emerges capable of dominating Eurasia and thus of also challenging America. The formulation of a comprehensive and integrated Eurasian geostrategy is therefore the purpose of this book.” (p. xiv)"

[jesuitsdidit]

this is the only way forward imo..

yes, but he's not doing it is he??

from PRESSTV

Israel vows another war on Gaza
Sun, 01 Feb 2009 14:30:27 GMT

Israel has threatened another 'disproportionate' war against the Gaza Strip after failing to achieve its objectives during a 23-day onslaught.

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said in a weekly cabinet meeting on Sunday that the military will harshly respond to rocket attacks which struck the western Negev earlier in the day.

"We will act according to new rules that will guarantee that we are not dragged into an incessant tit-for-tat war that will not allow normal life in the south of the country," said Olmert.

The premier was referring to two rockets that were launched from the Hamas-held territory early in the morning. One of the rockets landed in the Sdot Negev Regional Council while the other hit the Eshkol Regional Council.

Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, the military wing of Fatah - Hamas' rival faction - claimed responsibility for the rocket attacks, The Jerusalem Post reported.

"We've said that if there is rocket fire against the south of the country, there will be a severe and disproportionate Israeli response," said the premier. "The response will come at the time, the place and the manner that we choose."

Tel Aviv launched the 23-day onslaught in the densely-populated strip on December 27 with the intention of ending rocket attacks on the Israeli towns. However, Israel enforced a unilateral ceasefire on the war while repeatedly threatening to resume the attacks on the region.

Tel Aviv eventually broke the fragile ceasefire last week, launching several airstrikes on the region to retaliate the death of an Israeli soldier killed in a bomb blast at the Kissufim crossing.

The three-week-long deadly offensive left at least 1,330 Palestinians dead and more than 5,400 others wounded. Thirteen Israelis, including 10 soldiers, were also killed in the fighting.

http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=84357&sectionid=351020202

[jesuitsdidit]

yes, but he's not doing it is he??

or maybe thats part of the plan??

[jesuitsdidit]

Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, the military wing of Fatah - Hamas' rival faction - claimed responsibility for the rocket attacks, The Jerusalem Post reported.

ah, so it wasnt Hamas.. does that matter??

[jesuitsdidit]

And remember also … that the rockets are being thrown by the Fatah militants, Al Aqsa brigades, by Islamic Jihad. By people who are NOT Hamas. None of this comes out in public. The truth is not currently being told about the current situation.”

ah, so Fatah helps Israel by giving her the reason to attack Gaza. that way Fatah gets rid of Hamas and Israel gets Gaza + the gas field.. clever eh??