Gabriel Helou

يبحث الكنيست الاسرائيلي مشروع قانون القدس الذي يعتبر القدس عاصمة دولة اسرائيل وعاصمة "الشعب اليهودي" في ذات الوقت. في حال تم إقرار مشروع القانون هذا، سوف يكون مخالفاً للقانون الدولي، وبالتالي باطلاً. إن اسرائيل، كسلطة احتلال، ملزمة دولياً بعدم تبني أية إجراءات تهدف إلى تغيير الوضع القانوني للقدس الشرقية. إن القدس الشرقية تبقى جزءاً لا يتجزأ من الأراضي الفلسطينية المحتلة. في عام 1980، سنَّت اسرائيل القانون الأساسي الخاص بالقدس معلنةً القدس عاصمة اسرائيل. رداً على ذلك، تبنى مجلس الأمن قرار 478 الذي قرَّر بموجبه أن هذا القانون ينتهك القانون الدولي وأعلنه باطلاً.

" Jerusalem bill ": Should this bill be enacted, it would run against international law, and is therefore null and void. Israel, the Occupying Power, is under an international obligation not to adopt any kind of measures aimed at changing the legal status of East Jerusalem. East Jerusalem is and will remain an integral part of the Occupied Palestinian Territory (oPt). In 1980, Israel enacted "Jerusalem Basic Law" declaring Jerusalem as the Capital of Israel. In response, the Security Council adopted   Resolution 478   deciding that this Law had violated international law and declared it null and void.

“ Syrian  forces killed 111 people ahead of the start of a mission to monitor President Bashar al-Assad's implementation of an Arab League peace plan, activists said on Wednesday, and Francebranded the killings an "unprecedented massacre." Rami Abdulrahman of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said 111 civilians and activists were killed in addition to over 100 casualties among army deserters in Idlib province, turning Tuesday into the "bloodiest day of the Syrian revolution." "There was a massacre of an unprecedented scale in Syria on Tuesday," said French foreign ministry spokesman Bernard Valero. "It is urgent that the U.N. Security Council issues a firm resolution that calls for an end to the repression." The main opposition Syrian National Council demanded international action to protect civilians.”

“ European Union members of the Security Council have called for an immediate halt to the building of Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, including East Jerusalem. In a joint statement on Tuesday, they said increased settlement construction and settler violence are damaging the prospects of a return to negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians. The United Kingdom, France, Germany and Portugal said they were dismayed by what they called “wholly negative developments.” Ambassador Mark Lylall Grant of the United Kingdom read the statement on behalf of the four European members of the Security Council. “The viability of the Palestinian state that we want to see and the two-state solution that is essential for Israel’s long-term security are threatened by the systematic and deliberate expansion of settlements. Settlements are illegal under international law and represent a serious blow to the Quartet’s efforts to restart peace negotiations. All settlement

“ Germany 's foreign minister has suggested it can resolve differences with the UK over the future of Europe. After holding talks with his British counterpart William Hague, Guido Westerwelle said he wanted to "build bridges over troubled waters". Asked about the prospect of the UK eventually signing an EU-wide pact, he said "with goodwill it is doable". But Mr Hague said the UK would not set aside its demands for safeguards on regulation for the City of London. The UK has been asked to sit in on talks about formalising moves towards fiscal union among EU members - despite vetoing an EU treaty change to facilitate this.”

يرتكب العديد من الفلسطينيين – ويتكرر على الإعلام - خطأ قانوني فادح بقولهم "حصول فلسطين على عضوية مجلس الأمن ". لو حصل وأن تم قبول طلب عضوية فلسطين في الأمم المتحدة، فأنها تحصل على مقعد في الجمعية العامة للأمم المتحدة - أي عضوية الجمعية العامة التي تضم كل الدول الأعضاء في الأمم المتحدة (حالياً 193 دولة عضو). أما بالنسبة لمجلس الأمن، فعضويته محصورة بخمس عشرة دولة، خمسة منها دائمي العضوية، والعشرة الأخرى يتم انتخابها لمدة سنتين من قِبل الجمعية العامة. وبناءً على ذلك، لا يجوز القول "حصول فلسطين على عضوية مجلس الأمن "، لأنها لا تحصل على عضويته مباشرةً – لو تم قبول طلب العضوية.

"وصف رئيس مجلس الوزراء الدكتور سلام فياض، اليوم السبت، تصريحات المرشح الجمهوري للانتخابات الامريكية بأنها قمة في الاسفاف و الترخص. وجاءت تصريحات رئيس الوزراء هذه كرد فعل على تصريحات نيوت جينجريتش المرشح الأوفر حظا للفوز بترشيح الجمهوريين لانتخابات الرئاسة الأمريكية، عندما قال ان الفلسطينيين "مجموعة إرهابيين وشعب تم اختراعه"."

“Republican White House hopeful Newt Gingrich  has stirred controversy by calling the Palestinians an "invented" people who could have chosen to live elsewhere. The former House of Representatives speaker, who is the frontrunner for the Republican nomination for the 2012 presidential race, made the remarks in an interview with the US Jewish Channel broadcaster released on Friday. Asked whether he considers himself a Zionist, he answered: "I believe that the Jewish people have the right to a state ... Remember, there was no Palestine as a state. It was part of the Ottoman Empire" until the early 20th century, "I think that we've had an invented Palestinian people who are in fact Arabs, and who were historically part of the Arab community. "And they had a chance to go many places, and for a variety of political reasons we have sustained this war against Israel now since the 1940s, and it's tragic." … He said Obama's effort to treat th

" استنكرت جامعة الدول العربية، طرح مشروع قانون للتصويت في الكنيست الإسرائيلي يفرض على المواطنين الفلسطينيين من سكان أراضي 1948، التوقيع على وثيقة "ولاء لإسرائيل" في حال طلبه الحصول على هوية. وقال الأمين العام المساعد لشئون فلسطين والأراضي العربية المحتلة في الجامعة السفير محمد صبيح في تصريح له اليوم الخميس: "لا يوجد برلمان في العالم على مدار سنوات الاستعمار الطويلة، أصدر قوانين عنصرية بهذا الشكل والحجم كما يحدث تحت قبة البرلمان الإسرائيلي "الكنيست". وشدد صبيح على مخالفة مشروع القانون للإعلان العالمي لحقوق الإنسان وللقانون الدولي بشكل عام، موضحا أن مثل هذا القانون يندرج ضمن مساعي إسرائيل، لطمس الهوية الفلسطينية وتضييق الخناق على الفلسطينيين من سكان أراضي 1948."

“Following two major speeches from both President Sarkozy and Chancellor Merkel, the chances of a coherent European response to the crisis next week still look slim. Guy Verhofstadt , ALDE group leader said: " Sarkozy's speech last night was clearly addressing his domestic electorate for re-election as President of France and not as a champion of European unity. His vision is a Gaullist one which has been superseded by greater European integration. It is the intergovernmental Europe of nation states all selfishly fighting their own corner that has brought us to where we are now. The only way out of the crisis without destroying both the Single Currency and the Single Market is to rally behind the Community method based on solidarity and the common interest ." " European construction is based on commonly agreed rules, enforced by independent authorities like the European Commission and Court of Justice. Merkel and Sarkozy must not undo this fundamental principle in

الولايات المتحدة تصر على أن "يحاكموا" جنودها أمام محاكمها فقط خوفاً من أن لا تتوفر لهم محاكمة عادلة إن تمت محاكمتهم أمام محاكم أخرى، ولهذا تقوم بتوقيع - أو بالأحرى فرض - اتفاقيات مع الدول الأخرى لتوفير الحصانة لجنودها، وبالتالي عدم محاكمتهم أمام محاكم الدول المعنية.   لدي اقتراح للولايات المتحدة: أن لا ترسل جنودها خارج الولايات المتحدة، وأن لا تقوم بغزو أو احتلال دول أخرى، وهكذا لن يرتكب جنودها جرائم، وبالتالي خوفها من عدم توفر محاكمة عادلة لجنودها سوف يزول !

هناك اقتراح بأن ينضم العراق إلى النيتو. أولاً، ما حاجة أن ينضم العراق إلى هذا الحلف طالما الولايات المتحدة موجودة أصلاً في هذا البلد؟ ثانياً، هذا أمر غير جائز، لأن العراق - جغرافياً - لا يقع في منطقة شمال الأطلسي، ما لم يقوموا بنقله !

“Major political parties in Belgium have reached an agreement on the formation of a new coalition government that would end a political crisis which had left the country without an elected national administration for more than 530 days, media reports citing unnamed sources said late on Wednesday. The agreement reached on Wednesday among six political parties from the country's Dutch-speaking and Francophone communities is likely to pave the way for the formation a new coalition government led by French-speaking Socialist Elio Di Rupo.”

“At a debate today in the European Parliament, Guy Verhofstadt urged the leaders of France and Germany to set aside short term national interests in favour of the survival of the EU: "There has been much media speculation in recent days that the end of the euro is close. This is less because of the inability of Greece, Italy or Spain to control their debt but the inability of Germany and France to agree on the necessary steps to save the Euro. "In the past France and Germany have represented the driving force of European integration. Today their differences threaten the EU's very survival." "Sarkozy refuses to accept fiscal union with its implications of a transfer of sovereignty to a collective and objective judge of sound budgetary policy such as the European Commission or European Court of Justice." "On the other hand, Chancellor Merkel calls one week for closer political union and the next she blocks proposals that go in this direction suc

“A 19-month political feud between Belgium 's political leaders had ended with a budget deal that met the European Union structure a day after a debt downgrade. The budget envisages a fall in Belgium's public deficit to 2.8 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) in 2012. "There is an agreement," the spokesperson for Elio Di Rupo, the French-speaking Socialist premier-to-be, told the AFP news agency. Di Rupo had been trying to form a government based on a six-party coalition. But he tendered his resignation on Monday after talks for the 2012 budget - agreement on which is a condition for forming a government - ground to a halt. King Albert II, who had stepped in throughout negotiations to soothe tempers and urge politicians to find agreement to end 18 months without a formal government. "As a next step, he has asked the chief negotiator to form a government as quickly as possible," the palace said in a statement.”

Following is UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s message for the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, 29 November: "Sixty-four years ago on this day, the General Assembly adopted resolution 181, proposing the partition of the mandate territory into two States. The establishment of a Palestinian State, living in peace next to a secure Israel, is long overdue. The need to resolve this conflict has taken on greater urgency with the historic transformations taking place across the region.  I call on the Israeli and Palestinian leadership to show courage and determination to seek an agreement for a two-State solution that can open up a brighter future for Palestinian and Israeli children.  Such a solution must end the occupation that began in 1967, and meet legitimate security concerns.  Jerusalem must emerge from negotiations as the ‎ capital of two States, with arrangements for the holy sites acceptable to all.  And a just and agreed solution must be found f

" Israeli security forces officials said Wednesday that they believe Turkey is nearing a military intervention in Syria, in order to create a secure buffer zone for opposition activists. Thus far, Ankara has given shelter to some 20,000 refugees who escaped the deadly crackdown by Syrian President Bashar Assad's security forces, and also housed Syrian opposition groups."

“The United Nations' (UN) International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People is annually observed on November 29 across the world, including Pakistan to show solidarity with the Palestinian people. The day is also known as Solidarity Day that provides an opportunity for the international community to focus its attention on the fact that the question of Palestine is still unresolved and that the Palestinian people are yet to attain their inalienable rights as defined by the General Assembly, namely, the right to self-determination without external interference, the right to national independence and sovereignty, and the right to return to their homes and property from which they had been displaced. Special meetings are held to observe Solidarity Day in some UN offices, councils, government bodies and organisations that have a special interest in the issues encompassing the event.”

"Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh signed a Gulf initiative on Wednesday to hand over power to his deputy as part of a proposal to end months of protests that have pushed the Arab country to the brink of civil war."

  "أعلنت لجنة تقصي الحقائق المستقلة حول قمع الاحتجاجات في البحرين أن السلطات الأمنية استعملت القوة المفرطة وغير المبررة ضد المحتجين، في حين قبِل الملك حمد بن عيسى آل خليفة تقرير اللجنة وتعهد بمحاسبة المتجاوزين. فقد قال رئيس اللجنة شريف بسيوني في كلمة ألقاها بحضور ملك البحرين إن اعترافات المحتجزين انتزعت بالقوة وإن معتقلين تعرضوا للتعذيب. وأضاف في الجلسة الرسمية لإعلان التقرير، أن 35 شخصا قتلوا في الاضطرابات بينهم خمسة من أفراد الأمن، كما حث على إعادة النظر في أحكام أصدرتها السلطات بحق من اتهمتهم بالمسؤولية عن الاضطرابات."

“The head of a special commission that investigated Bahrain's unrest said Wednesday that authorities used torture and excessive force against detainees arrested in crackdowns on the largest Arab Spring uprising in the Gulf. Mahmoud Cherif Bassiouni — making the first official comments on report's findings — also said there was no evidence of Iranian links to Bahrain's Shiite-led protests in a clear rebuke Gulf leaders who accuse Tehran of playing a role in the 10-month-old showdown in the Western-allied kingdom.”

" Egypt's ruling military council was expected to announce Tuesday that it would transfer powers to the state's Supreme Court and hand over the reins of leadership to civilian elements, local media reported. The reports came just before the leader of the military council, Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, was scheduled to address the nation after four days of deadly clashes between security forces protesters demanding a change in leadership."

“The government broker trying to end Belgium 's world record government stalemate has offered to resign, plunging the negotiations to new depths. The royal palace announced Monday that the king will consider the offer but reminded the six negotiating parties that the impasse at the 526-day-long talks needs to end soon to keep financial markets at bay. Last month, Francophone socialist Elio Di Rupo clinched a breakthrough on a constitutional revision to grant more autonomy to Dutch-speaking Flanders and Francophone Wallonia. But the talks are now stuck on the 2012 budget proposals. Di Rupo's Socialists have been unable to agree with the Dutch-speaking Liberals on additional taxation and austerity measures.”

“Yesterday the security forces used unnecessary violence to clear Tahrir Square. Some thousands of demonstrators were still sleeping when police started to knock down their tents and beat people. They turned a peaceful demonstration into a violent clash which injured a thousand people and killed two. The Supreme Council of Armed Forces said today that it will handover its power to civilian rule by the end of 2012, if the chaos ends. This is totally unacceptable, certainly from an institution that claims it wants to install democracy. Guy Verhofstadt , ALDE group leader in the European Parliament said: “It is expected that today again thousands of demonstrators will fill Tahrir Square to demand the military hand over their power to civilian rule. We urge the Supreme Council of Armed Forces, as well as the Egyptian government and the state media to stop creating violence and chaos. If the military will not organise presidential elections soon, the EU should consider stopping the aid it

“ Saif al-Islam Gaddafi told Reuters on Saturday that he was feeling fine after being captured by some of the fighters who overthrew his father and he said injuries to his right hand were suffered during a NATO air strike a month ago. Asked by Reuters correspondent Marie-Louise Gumuchian on the plane which flew him to the town of Zintan if he was feeling all right, Gaddafi said simply: "Yes." Reluctant to speak at length, the London-educated 39-year-old son of Muammar Gaddafi was asked about bandages on the thumb and two fingers of his right hand. "Air force, air force," he said. Asked if that meant a NATO air strike, he said: "Yes.”

“Moammar Gadhafi's son Seif al-Islam - the only wanted member of the ousted ruling family to remain at large - was captured as he traveled with aides in a convoy in Libya's southern desert, Libyan officials said Saturday. Thunderous celebratory gunfire shook the Libyan capital as the news spread. A spokesman for the Libyan fighters who captured him said Seif al-Islam, who has been charged by the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity, was detained about 30 miles (50 kilometers) west of the town of Obari with two aides as he was trying to flee to neighboring Niger. But the country's acting justice minister later said the convoy's destination was not confirmed.”  

Second Committee Approves Text Relating to Permanent Palestinian Sovereignty over Resources in Occupied Territories "The General Assembly would demand that Israel stop exploiting, damaging, depleting, and endangering the natural resources in occupied Arab lands, according to the terms of one of seven draft resolutions approved today by the Second Committee (Economic and Financial). By other terms of that text, titled “Permanent sovereignty of the Palestinian people in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and of the Arab population in the occupied Syrian Golan over their natural resources”, the Assembly would recognize the right of the Palestinian and other Arab peoples to claim restitution for such illegal actions. Further by the draft, the Assembly would call upon Israel to cease all actions that harmed the environment in all the territories under its occupation, as well as the destruction of infrastructure, including water pipelines and sewage networ

Separation barrier route in Kibbutz Merav area changed leaving 1,500 dunams on Israeli side; may be first transfer of Palestinian-owned land to community on sovereign Israeli territory. " Israel carried out a de facto annexation of Palestinian land northeast of the Jordan Valley and given it to Kibbutz Merav. Merav, part of the Religious Kibbutz Movement, is about seven kilometers northwest of the parcel. The route of the separation barrier in the area was changed so that the plot in question, about 1,500 dunams (375 acres), would be on the Israeli side."

“Intervening in an important debate today in Strasbourg on the future scope and structure of economic governance in Europe, Guy Verhofstadt (ALDE group leader) drew attention to widening spreads on European bond markets - even amongst AAA countries - and called for a bold and global step forward towards economic and fiscal union - the missing piece from the EMU project dating back 20 years to the Treaty of Maastricht. "The Eurozone crisis has reached a very dangerous point. We are now witnessing increasing spreads on interest rates between national sovereign bonds and the benchmark German bund even for countries with a AAA credit rating like France which is now having to pay twice as much interest on its borrowing than Germany. What then is the value of such ratings ? "The longer we delay decisive action to resolve the crisis, the more costly and radical the measures required.." "Now a bold and global vision is necessary and a comprehensive plan that should i

Speech by the Leader of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE) in the European Parliament Guy Verhofstadt on Economic governance

لجنة العضوية التي عيَّنها مجلس الأمن للنظر في طلب عضوية فلسطين في الأمم المتحدة قالت أن "فلسطين لم توفِ المتطلبات الضرورية للدولة حيث أن السلطة الوطنية الفلسطينية لا تسيطر على جزء من اقليمها وهو قطاع غزة" مما شكل "عقبة رئيسية أمام قرار مجلس الأمن بشأن الطلب الفلسطيني". قد يكون هذا صحيح من ناحية القانون الدولي، لكن تم توظيف هذا الأمر لأسباب سياسية بحتة.  

“ Guy Verhofstadt , leader of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats in the European Union Parliament, and former Belgian Prime Minister and possible candidate for the 2014 EU Commission presidency , proposes federal union as the means to break the deadlock and solve Europe's financial crisis. Speaking to the Hong Kong Chamber of Commerce yesterday, Verhofstadt outlined comprehensive and detailed proposals for solving the EU's financial crisis. Verhofstadt states that with the launch of the Euro there was no public authority strong enough to penalize members who breached the rules. He calls the Greek crisis the trigger and not the cause of the crisis . The EU has used an intergovernmental method to solve its problems and he states "markets are asking for more unity and a transfer of powers to the European Institutions."”

“The Palestinian bid for U.N. membership went to a divided Security Council Friday after its admissions committee approved a report saying there is no consensus among the 15 council nations. For Palestine to become a U.N. member state, it needs the recommendation of the Security Council. That requires nine "yes" votes — which the Palestinians don't appear to have — and no veto by a permanent member. The U.S. has said it will veto a resolution supporting Palestinian membership if necessary. … When the admissions committee met last week, diplomats said China, Russia, Brazil, India, South Africa and Lebanon announced their support for Palestinian membership. France, Britain and Colombia announced they would abstain, and Bosnia later announced it would, too. While Nigeria, Gabon, Germany and Portugal didn't announce a final position, diplomats said Nigeria and Gabon will likely vote "yes" and Germany and Portugal will abstain or vote "no."”  

"قدمت لجنة القبول في عضوية الامم المتحدة تقريرها الى مجلس الامن الدولي الذي اجتمع اليوم الجمعة، والذي حمل عدم قبول فلسطين في الامم المتحدة بعد مشاورات منذ تقديم الطلب الفلسطيني في ايلول الماضي. ... وكانت 8 دول اعضاء في مجلس الامن الدولي مع التصويت وقبول فلسطيني عضوا كاملا في الامم المتحدة وهي "روسيا ، الصين ، الهند ، البرازيل ، جنوب افريقيا ، نيجريا ، الغابون ، لبنان" ، في حين عارضت الطلب الفلسطيني 7 دول "الولايات المتحدة ، بريطانيا ، فرنسا ، المانيا ، كولومبيا ، البوسنة والهرسك" في حين كان موقف البرتغال بالامتناع عن التصويت ."

"A UN Security Council committee said on Friday it had failed to reach agreement over a Palestinian application for full membership in the United Nations, the Portuguese UN ambassador said. The decision by the council's admissions committee brought the Palestinian Authority's push for UN recognition of a Palestinian state in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, one step closer to collapse. It is now up to Palestinians, who have so far been unable to secure the nine votes needed to pass a Security Council resolution favoring their UN bid, to decide whether or not to call a vote on their application."

“ Palestinian officials have admitted their bid for statehood in the United Nations in all likelihood has failed. A UN Security Council committee that has been considering the Palestinian application for recognition as a member state was expected to issue a final statement last night saying that it had been unable to muster majority support for the bid. The committee released a draft statement earlier this week that made the same point. Without the approval of the Security Council, the Palestinian application for UN membership cannot be considered by the 193-nation General Assembly, where it probably would have been approved. Palestinian officials said they still hoped the Security Council would hold a vote to ''name and shame'' those who stood against them. ''We believed that those who do not think we deserve a state should say so publicly and not hide behind a technicality of not reaching a consensus,'' a spokesman for the Palestinians, Xavier Abu Eid

Whereas it has become increasingly unlikely that Palestine would acquire full UN Membership - not only because the United States has undertaken to veto its application at the Security Council, but also due to the fact that a number of Security Council Members announced that they would abstain from voting – the focus should now move to the UN General Assembly (UNGA). If Palestine were able to garner a resolution from UNGA recognizing it and upgrading its status to an observer non-Member State, this would not be superfluous – at least from a legal perspective. This could in effect pave the way for Palestine to join other international bodies, as this step would serve as a “certificate” of its existence as an independent and sovereign State. Palestinians would then have at hand a legal document to attach to their application for membership at international organizations. However, we should bear in mind that some international organizations - such as the World Trade Organization (WTO) - re

“ Palestinians officials said Wednesday they are resigned to defeat in their quest for full membership at the United Nations and have resorted to a backup plan. The officials said they would seek an upgraded observer status that would give them access to key international organizations. They were speaking Wednesday on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the issue.”

“A draft report by a key UN Security Council committee, obtained by Reuters on Tuesday, declared that members could not reach consensus on whether the Palestinians' UN statehood bid should be accepted. "The committee was unable to make a unanimous recommendation to the Security Council," said the draft report of the council's committee on admitting new member states. It was circulated to all 15 Security Council members on Tuesday. The four-page draft appears to confirm that the Palestinian move to join the world body as a full member, which Western envoys said was doomed from the outset due to a U.S. vow to veto it if it ever came to a vote in the council, is set to fail due to the council's irresolvable deadlock.”

“French President Nicolas Sarkozy reportedly told US President Barack Obama that he could not "stand" Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and that he thinks the Israeli premier "is a liar." According to a Monday report in the French website "Arret sur Images," after facing reporters for a G20 press conference on Thursday, the two presidents retired to a private room, to further discuss the matters of the day. The conversation apparently began with President Obama criticizing Sarkozy for not having warned him that France would be voting in favor of the Palestinian membership bid in UNESCO despite Washington's strong objection to the move.”

Netanyahu : " Israeli settlement in West Bank important, but must be done legally. "   How could settlements be “legal” when the seizure of land and their construction contradict the concept and norms of international law?

"فجر محمود جامع الصديق ، عضو اول مجلس الشورى في مصر والمقرب من الرئيس السادات مفاجأة من العيار الثقيل في حوار مع "إيلاف" بقوله ان السادات خصه بسر أثناء زيارتهما لسوريا في عام 1969 وأثناء وقوفهما فوق هضبة الجولان حيث قال له السادات: "إن هذه الهضبة دفعت فيها إسرائيل 100مليون دولار تقريبا بصك تسلمه - آنذاك - رفعت الأسد وحافظ الأسد وأودع الصك في أحد بنوك سويسرا وأن رقم هذا الصك موجود عند عبد الناصر."

" France says it will abstain when the UN Security Council votes on whether to admit Palestine as a full member of the world body. Earlier this week, France voted to approve a similar Palestinian request for membership in UNESCO. But the Foreign Ministry said Friday that, while Palestine's quest for statehood is legitimate, it has no chance of getting past the Security Council. That's because the United States, which wields the power to veto measures there, has said it will vote "no." The ministry also said it was worried that the vote and its failure would unleash a violent reaction."

“The Palestinian bid for membership at the United Nations, which was doomed from the start by the threat of an American veto, moved another notch closer to rejection on Thursday at the Security Council, diplomats said. The Council’s membership committee met in private, with member states laying out their individual positions on the Palestinians’ request, said diplomats, who spoke on the condition of anonymity under diplomatic protocol. The membership committee is trying to produce a report by Tuesday, and indications are that the group will be unable to reach a consensus. The report is likely to be a dry, diplomatic document that says some committee members support the Palestinian’s bid and others oppose it. A vote to forward the report to the General Assembly will probably take place on Nov. 11, diplomats said. But a vote on the membership request itself — which was intended by the Palestinians to represent international recognition of statehood — might even be skipped if none of the