Juliano Mer-Khamis

The killing yesterday in the West Bank city of Jenin of Israeli-Arab actor and activist Juliano Mer-Khamis seems to have provoked a rare reaction on both sides of the Green Line: shock and anger among both Israelis and Palestinians.

This is in keeping with the man's unusual background and career. Born in the Israeli Arab city of Nazareth to an Israeli Jewish mother and an Israeli Christian Arab father, both also Communists, he combined a successful movie career with political activism. Though he had served as a paratrooper in the IDF, he had been spending most of his time in the Palestinian city of Jenin. After a theater built there by his mother was destroyed during the Israeli operation in Jenin in 2002, he rebuilt it and spent much of his time there, working to spread the arts in the Jenin refugee camp.

The Palestinian Authority has reportedly arrested a member of Hamas, but there were several gunmen involved. There seems to be some suspicion an Islamist opposed to the fact that the drama project was coeducational might be behind the attack.

He seems to have been an extraordinary man; the high praise he's receiving from both sides of the Green Line seem to testify to that. And as has happened far too often in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, it is precisely those who have genuinely built bridges between the two peoples (as he himself personally was such a bridge) who are too often the victims of the violence.

An interview and video about him here.

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Bombing in Jerusalem

A bomb has gone off near the Central Bus Station in Jerusalem, killing one person and injuring many. There has been an escalation of violence since Saturday, when 50 mortar rounds were fired from Gaza into Israel, followed by Israeli strikes on Gaza.

The quid pro quo cycle is sadly familiar and perhaps inescapable;I do wonder if this is some way linked with Mahmoud ‘Abbas announce willingness to go to Gaza to meet with Isma‘il Haniyya about settling the Fatah-Hamas split. At first glance it may seem odd to strike Israel to abort a Palestinian reconciliation, but in the calculus of this conflict, it could produce such a result.

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The "Palestine Papers"

I'm certainly going to have more to say on the major story that broke this weekend, what Al Jazeera English is calling "The Palestine Papers," confidential documents relating to negotiations between the Palestinian Authority and Israel (and the US) over the years, including apparent evidence the PA was willing to make far greater concessions than has been publicly acknowledged. These includes revelations about Jerusalem, the Haram al-Sharif, proposed Israeli land swaps, and so on. Al Jazeera's "Transparency Unit" has search engines in English and Arabic for searching those papers published so far. Key PA figures — Mahmoud ‘Abbas, Saeb ‘Erekat, Yasir ‘Abd Rabbo — are denying offering far-reaching concessions and charging that Al Jazeera has "distorted" the facts, and I suspect the key is going to be finding out not just what's in the headlines but what the documents actually say.

What's clear for now is that there is already considerable criticism of the PA within the Palestinian territories and abroad, and that whoever leaked these documents sought to embarrass ‘Abbas and the PA leadership generally.

I'll have more to say when I've read more, but I suspect the documents may reflect feelers, trial balloons, and other exploratory discussions in the course of negotiations. But the effect may be a bombshell in internal Palestinian politics.

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A PR Pro's Dream Photo

An article in The National on an "Invigorated" Mahmoud ‘Abbas and his renewed confidence is illustrated with a photo that must be as PR flack's dream:


Of course, they may have had to use several birds to get there, and maybe it pooped on him minutes later, but the photographer did get his shot. And he seems to be smiling, even if he's worried it's going to peck his forehead.

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Dahlan's Fall Proceeds Apace

Muhammad Dahlan's fall from grace is continuing. He's now been banned from Fatah meetings and from his major functions. Another story here.

The question of future Palestinian leadership at a time when the peace process seems moribund is an important one. Dahlan may have overplayed his hand, though the details are still quite murky. For now, he seems a spent force. But I still think it may be worth watching him.

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Christmas Eve in Bethlehem: a Better Year? And a Look at Last Year

Christmas Eve greetings; let's talk about Bethlehem and its problems today.

Bethlehem (Beth Lechem in Hebrew, "house of bread," and the cognate Bayt Lahm in Arabic, "house of meat," from a presumed Semitic root that meant something like "staple food": bread for an agricultural population, meat for a pastoral one) is a pretty town set in the Judean hills a dozen miles or so south of Jerusalem. It has some spectacular views out across the hills and desert towards the Dead Sea, and the "Little Town of Bethlehem" is a crowded city these days, where Muslims and Christians share the town; Muslims are in majority, but the Mayor is, under Palestinian Authority rules, always a Christian.

According to the Old Testament, Bethlehem was the home town of King David, and thus Messianic prophecies became associated with it. Tradition says that Jacob's wife Rachel is buried there, though there are conflicting traditions. But Bethlehem's real claim to fame is of course known to every Christmas caroler: the only two Gospels that describe Jesus' birth agree it was in Bethlehem, despite their many differences in details.

There are reports ahead of tonight's Big Night in Bethlehem that Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad's efforts to increase tourism to the Palestinian Authority are making this a more optimistic year for the West Bank city, whose primary tourism season is, of course, Christmas. I hope they're right. It's been a rough period for Bethlehem, which is pretty much a one-industry town, or maybe two: pilgrimage and olive wood. If you're not interested in the olive wood manger scenes or crosses, the craftsmen can pull out olive wood crescents, stars of David, or even Menorahs, but religion and olive wood are about the whole economy.

Last year, and most recent years, have been more awkward. The Israeli separation barrier, the Wall, not only blocks the pilgrimage route between Jerusalem and Bethlehem, slowing down pilgrimages, but runs right down one side of the main street into town, or what used to be, due to the Separation Wall dividing Bethlehem from Israeli-controlled Rachel's Tomb runs right down what was formerly the road; the satellite view in Google Earth shows just how bizarre the wall is in this part of its course. I haven't personally been there since the wall was built, and from the video and other views I've seen, I think I'm glad.

And Rachel's Tomb is one of Bethlehem's Holy Places. Being Jewish, it is separated by a wall from the Christian ones.

I don't intend to get into all the arguments about the wall here; I do believe with Robert Frost that "Something there is that doesn't love a wall," but I also understand why the Israelis built it. On the other hand, its impact on Bethlehem has been pretty devastating.

A Time video from last year:



And an AlJazeera English video, also on last year's Christmas, on the way the separation fence and other tensions have hurt tourism:



A Palestinian video showing celebrations, demonstrations, confrontations, and parties at home:



Mahmud ‘Abbas at the Church of the Nativity last Christmas:



And on the subject of the wall, there's this video and song I also posted last year, using as background a song by Canadian Christian singer Garth Hewitt:



There'll be one more Christmas post before the weekend, so stay tuned.

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Was Dahlan Trying to Form a Militia?

There's a new twist to the "Where's Muhammad Dahlan?" story (early reports here and here): Ha'aretz is reporting that Mahmud ‘Abbas and the Palestinian Authority have questioned Fatah activists about their being asked to help form an armed militia. Whether true or not I have no idea. On one of my earlier where's Dahlan post an anonymous commenter posted, "Who cares?" Apparently Abu Mazen does.

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Incomprehensibly Stupid Story of the Day

You really can't make it up: Israel Refuses Entry to Palestinian Firefighters Being Honored for Carmel Fire Assistance.

Good luck next time.

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Where is Muhammad Dahlan? Apparently in Cairo

Last week we discussed "Where is Muhammad Dahlan?" The missing Palestinian figure has turned up in Cairo, downplaying the alleged rift between himself and Mahmoud ‘Abbas, even though the Palestinian Authority has shut down a TV station affiliated with Dahlan.

The mere fact that Dahlan is in Cairo suggests there has been some kind of falling out?

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Political Repercussions of the Carmel Fire

The big fire on Mount Carmel, which I posted about last week, has now been brought under control, but with heavy dependence on international assistance. Not surprisingly, this huge natural disaster — given the relative populations, a comparison to Hurricane Katrina is only slightly exaggerated, I think — has led to the usual recriminations. Akiva Eldar sees it as a sign of Israel's overreach in its image of itself, though that's probably stretching the parallels a bit.

Prime Minister Netayanhu is opposing an in indepedent inqjiry into the fire, though several in his Cabinet have called for one. One of those calling for an independent inquiry is Minister of the Interior Eli Yishai, of the Sephardic Ultra-Orthodox Shas Party. Yishai is looking like bearing the brunt of the blame, especially after the (rightist, pro-Likud) Jerusalem Post reported that he had blocked the donation of state-of-the-art fire trucks on the grounds they were coming from a Christian Evangelical group.

Not surprisingly, Yishai is blaming the Treasury. but his resignation is being demanded by some in the Knesset, and of course by the Israeli left/center, Some on the right are piling on too. It's interesting to see a major political issue in Israel that involves neither the peace process, secular/religious divides, divorce or marriage.

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Where is Muhammad Dahlan?

There has been some speculation in recent days about the whereabouts of Muhammad Dahlan, the senior Palestinian Authority figure who was formerly chief of security in Gaza. He is said to have criticized Palestinian President Mahmoud ‘Abbas (with whom he's shown at left), and may have either had his bodyguard taken away or even left the West Bank.

Much of the speculation has been coming out of Al-Quds al-‘Arabi, the London-based Arabic paper, with articles here and here, but The National offers an English account here.

Dahlan was among the most prominent of the internal figures of the PLO, the indigenous leaders of the West Bank and Gaza who emerged during the first intifada, as opposed to the exiled leadership. Younger and more charismatic than ‘Abbas, with his own security network loyal to himself, he could be a potential challenger. If this is a permanent fall from grace, it suggests stresses within the upper reaches of the PLO.

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