Middle East

Multilateral talks on Tehran’s controversial nuclear programme opened in Geneva on Thursday afternoon. Iranian representatives held discussions with representatives of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council – United States, Russia, China, Great Britain and France – along with Germany. This is the first time in three decades that US and Iranian meet.

The Obama administration has effectively abandoned a demand that Israel freeze settlement expansion before the resumption of peace talks. President Obama signaled the shift on Tuesday as he met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. Obama urged both sides to “move forward” and enter final-status talks.

Only hours after President´s Obama policy change to abandon the missile defence shield, iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said to NBC News´Ann Curry that Iran has no need for nuclear weapons. Three times in the interview, Curry asked Ahmadinejad if there were conditions that could push Iran to have a bomb, saying that there was no need for such weapons.

Iran has agreed to negotiate with six world powers about nuclear issues, but according to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad Tehran will not negotiate over its right to possessing “peaceful nuclear technology”. Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Hassan Ghashghavi also said that Tehran will not negotiate about its “undeniable nuclear rights”.

Last April, World March organizers and Meir Margalit, councilman of the Meretz´s political party, agreed to build in Jerusalem a square to celebrate the World March. In the center, a six meters “green dome” will protect from the sun and circular seats will allow the place to be a “meeting point”. The square will be located between a Jewish and an Arab neighborhoods.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said the Israeli plan to build 455 housing units in settlement blocs in the occupied West Bank is unacceptable. The plan approved by Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak has the opposition of many countries. The proposal contravenes urgent appeals by the White House and the European Union to end construction of new houses in the West Bank.

Former President Jimmy Carter and South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu visited the construction sites of the Israeli separation wall in the West Bank and criticized Israel’s settlements in the region. Carter and Tutu are both part of The Elders, an organization of former global leaders trying to pressure Israel and the Palestinians to relaunch peace talks.

Chief Palestinian Negotiator, Saeb Erakat, said today, 25th August, that a just and lasting peace between Palestinians and Israelis was possible. “International law and United Nations resolutions clearly outline how to resolve this conflict. The Road Map and the Arab Peace Initiative provide a clear way forward”, said Erakat.

The official list published Saturday of winners in elections to the Revolutionary Council of the Palestinian Fatah movement included 67-year-old Dr. Uri Davis, a Jerusalem-born Jew. He was elected number 31 of 80 members. When his name was announced, members in the auditorium of the Bethlehem school where the conference was being held, applauded long and loud.

Israel has promised to build no new settlements on the West Bank until the beginning of 2010. The Israeli government says the decision should be seen as a gesture towards the United States. US President Barack Obama reacted positively to the offer, which he described as “a step in the right direction”. He hinted that he now expects a similar gesture from the Palestinians.