2. Decides that the negotiated solution will be based on the following parameters:
– borders based on 4 June 1967 lines with mutually agreed, limited, equivalent land swaps;
– security arrangements, including through a third-party presence, that guarantee and respect the sovereignty of a State of Palestine, including through a full and phased withdrawal of the Israeli occupying forces, which will end the occupation that began in 1967 over an agreed transition period in a reasonable timeframe, not to exceed the end of 2017, and that ensure the security of both Israel and Palestine through effective border security and by preventing the resurgence of terrorism and effectively addressing security threats, including emerging and vital threats in the region;
– a just and agreed solution to the Palestine refugee question on the basis of Arab Peace Initiative, international law and relevant United Nations resolutions, including resolution 194 (III);
– a just resolution of the status of Jerusalem as the capital of the two States which fulfils the legitimate aspirations of both parties and protects freedom of worship;
– the just settlement of all other outstanding issues, including water and prisoners;

2. Decides that the negotiated solution will be based on the following parameters:
– borders based on 4 June 1967 lines with mutually agreed, limited, equivalent land swaps ;
– security arrangements, including through a third-party presence, that guarantee and respect the sovereignty of a State of Palestine, including through a full and phased withdrawal of Israeli security forces which will end the occupation that began in 1967 over an agreed transition period in a reasonable timeframe, not to exceed the end of 2017, and that ensure the security of both Israel and Palestine through effective border security and by preventing the resurgence of terrorism and effectively addressing security threats, including emerging and vital threats in the region.
– A just and agreed solution to the Palestine refugee question on the basis of Arab Peace Initiative, international law and relevant United Nations resolutions, including resolution 194 (III);
– Jerusalem as the shared capital of the two States which fulfils the legitimate aspirations of both parties and protects freedom of worship;
– an agreed settlement of other outstanding issues, including water

Why are Palestinians going now to seek such a resolution?

The question is not why now, but why not before.

#UNSC

The telephone conversation was initiated by the U.S. side.

Several Western council diplomats told Reuters they had been surprised by the Palestinians‘ sudden push to submit over the next few days a final draft resolution to the U.N. Security Council.

The full response to Inner City Press from Riyad Mansour, the last phrase of which was cut off, was „“There was a telephone conversation between President Mahmoud Abbas and Secretary of State John Kerry yesterday and I‘m sure they discussed all the issues.”

Palestine met with the Arab Group at the UN about the pending draft Security Council resolution on December 29. Afterward, Inner City Press asked Palestine‘s Observer Riyad Mansour and Jordan‘s Permanent Representative Dina Kawar about US opposition. Video here.

“We don’t think this resolution is constructive,” State Department spokesman Jeff Rathke told a regular news briefing.

Techdirt has noted that the NSA chose to release embarrassing details of its illegal surveillance of Americans on Christmas Eve. By an interesting coincidence, the French government picked the same date to enact a hugely controversial new surveillance law, which had been passed back in 2013, and will now enter into operation almost immediately, at the start of 2015. One of its most troubling aspects is the vagueness of its terms. As reported by Le Point, here‘s what can be collected (original in French):

„Information or documents processed or retained by electronic communications networks or services, including technical data related to the identification of subscription numbers or connections to electronic communications services, the inventory of all subscription numbers or connection of a designated person, location of the terminal equipment used as well as a subscriber‘s communications including the list of numbers called and callers, duration and timing of communications.“

Last week,police shot Muhammad Jamal Ubeid when he stood outside his home in Issawiyah in “East Jerusalem”. A sponge bullet for demonstration dispersal hit him under his eye.

Ubeid is 5 years old. This is how he looks.

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Jordan‘s U.N. Ambassador Dina Kawar, the Arab representative on the Security Council, told reporters as she headed into Monday‘s closed-door meeting that Jordan would have liked more consultations among the 15 council members but respects „very much“ that the Palestinian situation is difficult.

„We will be doing what the Palestinians want and in conformity with the Arab League,“ she said.

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Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said in a statement on Sunday that, „the draft resolution is unacceptable and aims to liquidate the Palestinian cause. It contains massive concessions.“ The resolution expresses the will of an influential group within the PLO and „does not reflect the national desire of our people,“ he added.

Abu Zuhri pointed out that the draft resolution includes items that Hamas cannot accept, the most prominent being re-designating Jerusalem as the shared capital of the „so- called two-states“. Abu Zuhri stressed that in the eyes of Hamas, Jerusalem will remain the indivisible capital of Palestine.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meets with Indiana Governor Mike Pence

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„Israel and our civilization is under attack,“ Netanyahu stated. „The attacks come from Iran; the attacks come from the various Islamists. The attack is now coming on Israel from the Palestinian Authority seeking to impose on us a diktat that would undermine Israel‘s security, put its future in peril.“

Indiana Gov. Mike Pence met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday, as part of a nine-day trip to the nation that‘s sure to set tongues wagging about his plans for the 2016 presidential race

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Just like the bloody encounter that Cain and Abel had with the ideas of Sigmund Freud, someone has decided that in the war between the two Shas brothers and rivals, Eli Yishai and Aryeh Deri, the right time has come to reenact the oedipal conflict by murdering the father figure.

‚We expect the entire international community – at least the responsible members of that community – to oppose vigorously this UN diktat,‘ Netanyahu says, as Palestinians plan to submit final draft of Security Council resolution on ‚end of occupation‘ on Monday.

(25.12.) „We have repeatedly said that we will vote for this resolution,“ Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov told Interfax.

“Peace is the opposite of war.
War is the opposite of peace.”

That was how my English teacher at school first taught me the concepts of war and peace. My teacher never explained what each of them means. I realize now that no matter how hard my teacher would try to convey the meaning of war and peace to me, she would never do it as excellently as life in Gaza did.

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The Council is composed of 15 Members:

five permanent members: China, France, Russian Federation, the United Kingdom, and the United States,
and ten non-permanent members elected for two-year terms by the General Assembly (with end of term date):
Argentina (2014)
Australia (2014)
Chad (2015)
Chile (2015)
Jordan (2015)
Lithuania (2015)
Luxembourg (2014)
Nigeria (2015)
Republic of Korea (2014)
Rwanda (2014)

At least nine votes are needed for the resolution to pass. It was not clear by Sunday night whether the Palestinians had succeeded in winning the backing of nine members of the Security Council.

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Steve Inskeep: That raises a word that I want to bring up that former Secretary of State Clinton used in a speech the other day. She was criticized for having empathy or understanding for even enemies around the world. There are, though, military people who use empathy for the enemy, by which they mean not sympathy but understanding the enemy so you can …

President Obama: Absolutely.

Steve Inskeep: … outwit them.

President Obama: Right.

(…)

President Obama: America‘s never been in the business of colonizing other countries and grabbing their resources; we‘ve never been in the business of bullying folks into doing things that we can‘t do for ourselves. Where we have done that, by the way, it‘s never worked out all that well. That‘s not our best tradition.

Our best tradition is when we just lead by example and when we are strong and secure and we‘re standing up for what we believe in.

Obama was asked in an NPR interview whether he could envision opening an embassy there during his final two years in office. Obama replied, „I never say never,“ but said ties must be restored in steps.

U.S. President Barack Obama says a nuclear agreement with Iran is „possible“ and would be a necessary first step in any greater diplomatic engagement between the two countries.