MidnightWatcher – Prophecy in Motion

By Tim Marshall – “To lunch with Israel’s Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon where the talk is of little other than the proposed United Nations vote on full recognition of a Palestinian state as proposed by President Abbas.

The Minister opens with ‘The way to end the conflict is not unilateral action, they must not change the rules of the game’ . He continued ‘ It would be confrontational because it’s against the agreements we have made. By breaking the agreements they also release us from the agreements’.

The vote may not happen. Many countries oppose it knowing it would be only symbolic and could lead to violence. But President Abbas has boxed himself in. If there is no vote, the pent up frustrations of Palestinians could erupt against both the Israelis and the Palestinian leadership. If there is a vote, and nothing changes, the same could happen.

Mr Ayalon warned against a third intifada. ‘If there is violence they will lose all their achievements on the ground. Were the last two intifadas to their advantage? I don’t think so’. Behind that statement is the truth that there has been an economic boom in the West Bank albeit one built somewhat on sand. There are new hotels, cafes, restaurants and businesses. These would all likely be smashed if there was another round of fighting.” Read more.

Jailed Palestinian leader Barghouti calls for mass rallies to back UN statehood bid – “Jailed leader Marwan Barghouti has called on Palestinians to stage mass rallies in September in support of a diplomatic bid to gain UN membership for a state of Palestine. Barghouti, a figure widely respected among many Palestinians, said taking the statehood quest to the United Nations was part of a new strategy that would open the door to ‘peaceful, popular resistance’… Israel is wary that the September bid could serve as a trigger for protests inspired by uprisings across the region.” Read more.