Middle East

Syrian opposition figures and groups claiming that they represent most opposition movements to Bashar Al Assad dictatorial regime, have formed in Turkey a National Transition Council, chaired by Burhan Ghalioun, a Syrian-French academic teaching at the Sorbonne University in Paris.

The extraordinary session of the Jordanian parliament was asked to stay in session in order to debate and vote on the constitutional changes that the royal commission had recommended and the king accepted. Once approved and signed by the king, the changes will be the most comprehensive changes in 90 years.

From the blog “Fuera de Lugar” (Out of Place) of publico.es:
Interview with Ali Abu Awwad, by Amador Fernández-Savater and Juan Gutiérrez. Made in the framework of the meetings “Positive peace: a possible challenge” (8th June 2010, Bilbao).

The People’s Party of Palestine (PPP) organized a march in Nablus yesterday, calling for a boycott Israeli goods to show solidarity with the people of Gaza.

The President of the National Palestinian Authority (PNA), Mahmud Abbas, will personally deliver the request for full membership of the United Nations by Palestine on the 20th of September.

The Palestinian Authority (PA) has ordered the organisation’s security forces to prevent planned demonstrations in September from turning violent, according to the Israeli newspaper Ha’aretz.

The Palestinian Authority has ordered the organisation’s security forces to prevent planned demonstrations in September from turning violent, according to the Israeli newspaper Ha’aretz. The protests, sponsored by the Palestinian Liberation Organisation, will coincide with the PA’s bid for statehood at the UN on September 20.

Now that the Palestinian Authority (PA) is further concentrating its efforts on submitting to the UN, next September, a formal demand for the recognition of Palestine as an independent state, the U.S. and Israel are working to prevent the international community from doing so, and proposing new talks with the condition that the Palestinians abandon their legitimate request.

Over six years ago, UK Prime Minister Tony Blair asked Pakistani President General Pervez Musharraf: What can we (the West) do for you (Pakistan) to strengthen you position in the region? Musharraf replied: Solve the Palestinian problem!

An Israeli government official said on Tuesday that his country would be willing to begin new peace talks with the 1967 Green Line as a basis for negotiations on the condition that the Palestinians drop their United Nations membership bid. The assumption is that if this process succeeds, the Palestinians will withdraw their proposal for unilateral action at the UN.