Palestine's red line

Lieberman's statements show that everything is a red line for Palestinians, even diplomacy

The Israeli foreign minister, Avigdor Lieberman, has once again talked down to Mahmoud Abbas, the president of the Palestinian Authority, threatening there will be "a price to pay" if Mr Abbas continued to pursue a United Nations' recognition of Palestine as a non-member state, wrote the West Bank-based newspaper Al Quds in a lead editorial yesterday.

Somehow, Mr Lieberman reckons that the PA's diplomatic statehood bid at the UN amounts to "a spit" in Israel's face, the editorial said. The Israeli minister also accused Mr Abbas of standing in the way of peace.

"While giving himself the right to decide who is an impediment to the peace process and who is not, Mr Lieberman never takes the time to define the model of peace that he champions," the newspaper said. "Instead, he tosses around insubstantial threats that will not frighten the smallest Palestinian child."

What does Mr Lieberman expect the Palestinians to do?

"He doesn't want them to resort to [armed] resistance against Israel's illegal occupation; nor does he want them to lead a political and diplomatic struggle; he equally rejects any resort to international law and would not allow a UN intervention in the conflict," the paper said.

What is left, then? It would seem that only total Palestinian inertia would satisfy Mr Lieberman. Yet even that wouldn't do it: to be considered good neighbours, Palestinians will still have to provide a consumer market for Israeli goods - some of which, to add insult to injury, would be produced in illegally occupied Palestinian territories.

Mr Lieberman adamantly takes issue with the Palestinian bid in the UN, notwithstanding the fact that it is the same UN that, decades ago, issued a resolution dividing the land of Palestine, giving birth to Israel.

In that same resolution, there is an oft-forgotten but clearly worded clause that provides for the establishment of an independent Palestinian state, which hasn't happened to this day.

"The whole world knows that the political course of action adopted by the Netanyahu-Lieberman government harms peace and breaches international law ... This government fears that a move at the international level would … train a spotlight on its illegal settlements, cruel occupation, gross human rights violations and racist policies against Palestinians."

If people from another planet were to hear Mr Lieberman speak about the Palestinian UN bid being "a spit" in the face of Israel, they might assume Israel has been doing Palestinians favours.

"Quite the contrary, Israel's abusive practices are the chief cause for the suffering of the Palestinian people - a people that Lieberman, [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu and their likes are making sure is kept from exercising its right to self-determination."

Arab intervention in Syria unproductive

The Qatari proposal at the United Nations General Assembly last week for an Arab military intervention in Syria is inapplicable. In fact, it may extend the crisis rather than cut it short, opined Tareq Al Homayed, the editor-in-chief of the pan-Arab daily Asharq Al Awsat.

"A mere sign of an international movement, even outside the scope of the Security Council where Russia acts as a shield for the Syrian regime, and the simple announcement of a buffer zone would be sufficient for the remnants of the dictator's forces to disintegrate," he suggested.

Dispatching Arab joint forces, however, would be futile. It wouldn't solve the humanitarian crisis in Syria that requires collective international efforts.

The humanitarian disaster in Syria is real. It jeopardises the country's entire social fabric. The Assad regime, backed by Russia and Iran, is perpetrating atrocious crimes against its people amid the bizarre indifference of the whole world.

"The calibre of this crime has no precedent in our region in the contemporary Arab history … This is a regime that serves Iran's interests, wants to rule Syria with an iron fist, and eventually corrupt the entire region. It must be removed by international efforts," he added.

Any intervention must aim to resolve the situation.

Partial solutions are useless at this point.

'Study has revealed' formulae to be ignored

If one believed all the studies they read, they would find themselves adrift in the Amazon jungle, unkempt and unwashed eating herbs, drinking from the river, frowning and smiling to the camera for no reason - like monkeys, wrote Hassan Al Zaabi in a satirical column in the UAE-based Al Emarat Al Youm.

Who will you believe when you read a story that says "a study has revealed that drinking coffee reduces depression and boosts mood", and a week later you read a contradictory story that also claims "that coffee is a main cause of osteoporosis", the writer remarked.

This is a dilemma. "If I drink coffee my pelvis might break and leads to my depression; if I don't, I might become depressed and think of suicide and end up with a broken pelvis."

There's more. One study claims long nights of sleep might cause a stroke. Another says that it increases longevity and lowers risk of chronic diseases. "Shall I set the alarm to ring every hour as a compromise?"

Or what about a study the says bald people are more influential and confident, while another says baldness decreases attractiveness and undermines self-confidence.

The list goes on, and on.

* Digest compiled by The Translation Desk

translation@thenational.ae