EU bans cooperation with Israel in areas beyond pre-1967 lines
(JNS.org) The European Union on July 19 will issue a directive to all of its member nations that bans cooperation with Israel in Judea and Samaria, eastern Jerusalem, and the Golan Heights, all territories acquired by Israel in the 1967 Six Day War.
As of 2014, Israeli projects seeking EU funding will be required to sign a clause in their cooperation agreement stating that areas beyond Israel’s pre-1967 lines are not part of the agreement. According to the EU directive, which was first reported by Haaretz, forbidden activities for EU members will also include the awarding of scholarships and research stipends to Israelis living beyond the pre-1967 lines.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned the EU directive, saying that his government “will not accept any external edicts about our borders” and will attempt to reach a peace agreement with the Palestinians only through direct negotiations. Israel’s deputy foreign minister, Zeev Elkin, said the directive “fuels the Palestinian refusal to return to the negotiation table,” the Associated Press reported.
The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) said the EU has exhibited bias against Israel “for not pressuring the Palestinian Authority to drop its pre-conditions for peace negotiations and end anti-Israel and anti-Semitic incitement in official Palestinian media.”
“[PA] President [Mahmoud] Abbas has blocked the process with his pre-conditions, so who does the EU pressure? Israel. Who gets a free pass? The Palestinians,” ADL National Director Abraham H. Foxman said in a statement.
Senior Palestinian official Hanan Ashrawi, meanwhile, called the EU’s decision the “beginning of a new era.”
However, another senior Palestinian Authority official reportedly told Israel Hayom on Tuesday that many in Ramallah were dissatisfied with the European Union’s decision to withhold economic grants and incentives to Israeli companies situated in Judea and Samaria.
“For our part, we approached a number of [European] Union officials, in the [Palestinian] Authority and also in Israel, to try and prevent the decision or at least to keep it unofficial,” said the official, who declined to give his name. “It’s not just Israeli companies that are going to be hit economically, it’s also going to be disastrous economically and socially for the Palestinian community.”
According to the Palestinian official, the European move will freeze joint projects, force employers to stop hiring Palestinians to work on joint projects with Israelis and lead to widespread layoffs of Palestinians laborers working in Judea and Samaria industrial zones.
Sammer Darawsha, who works in a hothouse that is a part of a joint Israeli-Palestinian agricultural project funded by members of the EU and situated near the Halamish community, said the decision will “affect everyone, whether Jew or Palestinian.”
“If they take away our livelihoods and food, exactly what kind of peace will be here?” Darawsha said.
*
Orthodox man stabbed by two Arab youths in Old City after Tisha B’Av
(JNS.org) A 33-year-old Orthodox man was stabbed Tuesday night shortly after breaking his fast for Tisha B’Av in Jerusalem’s Old City, Israel Hayom reported.
Magen David Adom (MDA) medics took the man to Shaare Zedek Medical Center with minor wounds. Large contingents of police arrived on the scene in search of two Arab youths who allegedly stabbed the man. Police speculate that the attack had nationalistic motives.
The man was walking home from the Western Wall and had decided on a route through Damascus Gate. When he reached Sultan Suleiman Street, two Arab youths allegedly assaulted him, stabbed him in the abdomen and fled. The scene began drawing a crowd as other Orthodox people walking on the street at the time witnessed the attack and called the police. Officers dispersed the crowd and brought the wounded man to a nearby ambulance.
“Around nine at night dispatch reported a man had been stabbed at Damascus Gate,” said MDA medic Ariel Litman. “An emergency aid team was sent to the area, there was a big commotion and traffic and police officers brought the wounded man to us. He came to us walking with multiple stab wounds in the chest and abdomen. We provided first aid and took him to a trauma unit.”
At Shaare Zedek Medical Center, medics concluded that the man’s stab wounds were shallow and he was declared lightly wounded. The man told police that he fought off his attackers.
*
London transport reverses Emirates Airline deal that included Israeli exclusion
(JNS.org) Greater London’s major government-owned transportation body has reversed its agreement to refuse business ties with Israel or any Israeli companies in exchange for a 10-year, £36 million sponsorship deal with Emirates Airline for a railway car running over the Thames river.
“Thankfully, this oversight has not had any lasting effect on the important trading relationship between the UK and Israel. I firmly support a strong and mutually profitable trading relationship between the two democracies,” Paul Charney, Chairman of Zionist Federation UK, said in a statement Wednesday.
The United Arab Emirates has no diplomatic relations with Israel. On Monday, Transport for London posted the contract with Emirates Airline online. The contract states that the company will default on the agreement if it engages with “(i) any Competitor; or (ii) any person who is a national of, or who is registered, incorporated, established or whose principal place of business is in a country with which the United Arab Emirates does not at the date of this Contract or at any relevant point during the Term maintain diplomatic relations.”
Before it was canceled, the Zionist Federation’s Charney had said the deal “sets a dangerous precedent effectively allowing UAE money to dictate government policy through commercial contracts.” On Wednesday, Charney said, “I am pleased to report that following swift public outcry and a ZF chairman’s statement, the Israeli exclusion condition agreed between Emirates Airlines, the UAE official airline, and TfL has since been removed.”
“We must remain vigilant against any back-door attempts to boycott Israel in the UK,” he said.