Presenter, Male #1
The United Nations has said that, in the last two days, the floods have displaced a million people in southern Pakistan. With this development, the number of people affected by the disaster has reached 7 million.

Presenter, Female #1
Pakistani authorities ordered close to 300,000 residents of the southern city of Fatta to evacuate, after the floods caused a leak in a dam located only several kilometers away from the city. The United Nations said that the situation in southern Pakistan is getting even worse.

Presenter, Male #1
In Basham, northern Pakistan, the situation is not much better than that of the south. The floods have forced thousands of people to leave the region in search of shelter.

Presenter, Female #1
Abdul Rahman Matar reports on a family in Basham that was displaced by the floods.

Reporter, Male #1
In a semi-isolated region in northern Pakistan’s Basham Province, the floods and landslides destroyed everything that Lal Hassan Khan’s family owned. They have nothing left but parts of their house and farm. The Indus River swept away everything, except for their memories.

Guest, Male #1
The water suddenly came in late at night. First, rocks started to sporadically roll down from the mountains. Then, huge blocks of rocks rapidly rolled down. We barely managed to escape the house, in the stormy weather, and save my family from death.

Reporter, Male #1
After 3 days without shelter, the family realized that waiting for help is useless. So they came back here to their destroyed home.

Guest, Female #1
Hassan built this temporary room, in which I arranged the things that I could find from the house. I wanted to reaffirm our desire to recover even just one thing from what we used to have.

Reporter, Male #1
Hassan realizes that his loss is minuscule in comparison to what happened and is still happening in many parts of Pakistan. But to him, this is a loss that cannot be compensated. The only thing he can do is try not to give in to the disaster or despair. So this family survived two disasters with immense difficulties: the floods and the landslides. Despite the fact that the family lost almost everything, they still insist on facing the challenges of life, perhaps because they don’t have any other choice. Abdul Rahram Matar, al-Jazeera, Basham, Northern Pakistan.

Presenter, Female #1
The US envoy to the Middle East, George Mitchell, is preparing for the tripartite summit scheduled to be held next week in Washington.

Reporter, Male #1
Just several days are left until Mahmoud Abbas and Benjamin Netanyahu meet in Washington. On September 2nd, the two will enter the White House, each one of them holding his specific requirements related to the direct negotiations. The summit’s success or failure will have implications in both Israel and Palestine. The Palestinian president, who is attending the negotiations only because of pressure, will arrive in the White House with his demands and conditions aimed at guaranteeing real and serious negotiations on major issues, such as the border, settlements, Jerusalem and refugees. According to Israelis, these issues do not have a good outcome waiting for them. These very issues are what Israelis are nervous about, or more precisely, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. He formed a special team for the negotiations, which will be officially headed by him. Meanwhile, the real leadership of the negotiation team will be given to Yitzhak Molcho, who has been responsible for talking with the US since 2009. However, Netanyahu does not seem to be in a better position than his Palestinian rival. The Israeli prime minister is getting ready to face the settlement dilemma and the demands to freeze it. In the event he doesn’t meet the promises he made internally, regarding the resumption of settlement activities after September 26, Netanyahu will put his government coalition at risk, and may lose the support of the national right-wing and religious parties. However, in the event he gives the green light to resume construction activities, Netanyahu will miss the opportunity to achieve progress in the peace process, which may drag the region to a new wave of violence. All that Netanyahu has sought to promote, with US help, is talks about a mid-way solution based on a proposal submitted by Minister Dan Maridur. The minister calls for revoking the settlement freeze in major settlement blocs but keeping it in effect in isolated towns, which will not remain under Israeli control as part of the lasting settlement agreement. This mid-way solution, which seems to enjoy US support, will not meet Palestinian aspirations. This will, in turn, dim the hopes of the quartet for Mideast peace committee, which says that it’s possible to complete the negotiations aimed at solving the more than 6-decade-long conflict within a year.

Presenter, Female #1
Israel has imposed a tight curfew on Jerusalem on this 3rd Friday of the holy month of Ramadan. The Israeli occupation authorities prevented men under the age of 50 and women under 45 from attending Friday prayer at al-Aqsa Mosque. As part of the collective punishment against worshippers, Palestinians were forced to stand in long lines, lasting hours, before being allowed to cross Israeli checkpoints into Jerusalem. Also in the Palestinian territories, the UAE has pledged support for Palestinian families during the holy month of Ramadan. More than 12,000 poor Palestinian families are receiving fresh meat from the Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan Charity and Humanitarian Foundation, in cooperation with the UN Relief and Works Agency, UNRWA. The food supplies are part of the UAE-sponsored Ramadan projects that were launched in 19 Palestinian camps in the West Bank and Jerusalem. Our correspondent, Sheruk As’ad, reports from Ramallah.

Reporter, Female #2
These families are part of more than 12,000 families classified by UNRWA as the poorest and most deprived in the West Bank refugee camps. The agency, in cooperation with Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan Charity and Humanitarian Foundation, has pledged food supplies, including fresh meat, to needy families.

Guest, Female #3 (Luban Madia, Assistant to Director of UNRWA Operations)
This project is very valuable to UNRWA. It is co-sponsored by the Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan Charity and Humanitarian Foundation. The project caters to the poorest families in the refugee camps.

Reporter, Female #2
The aid pledged by the Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan Charity and Humanitarian Foundation, in partnership with UNRWA, is estimated at $400,000. As part of this partnership, which started nearly 3 years ago, Khalifa bin Zayed foundation has sponsored a number of projects, including education and food. The Emirates donation helped close part of UNRWA’s budget gap, which is estimated to reach 48 million dollars by the end of the current year.

Guest, Male #1 (Marwan Abu Haikal, UNRWA Official in the West Bank)
The Khalifa bin Zayed foundation has pledged aid, including food. The foundation is helping us launch projects.

Reporter, Female #2
The Foundation also pledged support for civil society organizations, women associations and rehabilitation centers. This food program is one of the Ramdan projects, which were launched in 19 refugee camps in the West Bank, including Ramallah, Jerusalem, Nablus, Bethlehem, and other cities. The families are in dire need of aid, especially amidst soaring prices and the difficult humanitarian and economic conditions caused by unemployment, the settlers’ acts of aggression, and the blockade and the separation wall.

Guest, Male #2
The youth are unemployed. There’s no work and there’s nothing to do. You can see for yourself.

Guest, Female #4
We would like to thank those who are trying to help us. We particularly thank the UAE, which has always stood-by us.

Reporter, Female #2
In every crowded home in these Palestinian refugee camps, there’s a troubling story to be told. However, the residents here are happy to find out that someone in this world is thinking about them.

Presenter, Female #1
Teaching the young how to fast is entrusted to the adults. With the beginning of the holy month of Ramadan, families begin encouraging children to fast for a few hours at the beginning of the month so they can get used to hunger, thirst and learn self-control at a young age. In the Jordanian capital, Amman, these customs don’t differ than those in the rest of the Arab countries, in which this fast carries a variety of names. Our correspondent Salwa Sawalika visited one of those families and brought back the following report.

Reporter, Female # 2
Gently, gently…Raed and Dana spend their fast playing and having fun until it’s their time to break the fast in about an hour. Their childhood, the rising temperature and their great thirst do not prevent them from fasting. They are both getting used to it now so it becomes easier for them when they get older. In the kitchen, their mother is preparing for them a light meal that marks the end of a few hours of hunger and thirst.

Guest, Female # 3
Children are entrusted to us, so we can teach them at first how to fast for half an hour. Then, it becomes an hour. It all depends on their age. If they are older than 7 years of age, they fast until the Asser prayer. Then, they fast for the duration of the day.

Reporter, Female # 2
In a neighborhood of the capital Amman, children gather to spend their fast together. Some are fasting for a full day or a half day. Others, just a few hours. What matters is that they’re fasting.

Presenter, Male #1
Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir joined a number of African leaders and representatives from various governments and relevant institutions for Kenya’s celebration of the ratification of its new constitution. A referendum for the new constitution was held at the beginning of the month. Kenya is one of the countries that signed the International Criminal Court’s agreement, which requires Kenya to hand over President Bashir if found in the country. The International Court is calling for the arrest of Bashir on war crime charges. The new Kenyan constitution includes political reforms, which political observers believe will place Nairobi on the threshold of a new era in its modern history.

Reporter, Male #1
To the rhythm of drums, in the squares of Nairobi, Kenyans celebrated the official announcement of the country’s new constitution. The celebration came less than one month after Kenyans voted for it on August 4th, with 67% of the votes. The new Kenyan constitution has ended the worst nightmares found in the memories of Kenyans, recollections of violence that the country witnessed after the 2007 elections, which left 1,300 people killed and more than 650,000 displaced. The majority of Kenyans hope that the new constitution will create a base upon which the presidential system can be built, puts an end to the power struggle and meets the Kenyan people’s expectations for development and justice.

Guest, Male #1 (Kwamchetsi Mokhoke, Political analyst)
"It's a new experiment, in which we are trying to create a nation that runs on the competition of ideas and individuals, rather than forcing people to coalesce around ethnicities in order to defend their interests".

Reporter, Male #1
The new constitution reduces the absolute power of the president, supports the rule of decentralization for the provinces, and gives citizens the right to elect the governors and representatives of their own provinces. It also sanctions the formation of a senate, consisting of 47 members, who have the power to impeach the president. It ratifies the rights of minorities and Kenyans with dual-citizenship. In addition, it requires respect for cultural diversity and the characteristics of all the ethnic communities. Moreover, it affirms the equal distribution of wealth to the citizens, and gives the Muslim minority, which accounts for 35% of the population, the right to establish legal courts for Muslim Kenyans. The courts will specialize in reviewing personal cases and disputes among Muslims, as well as inheritance cases.

Presenter, Male #1
US Ambassador to Iraq, James Jeffrey, believes that groups backed by Iran were responsible for a quarter of U.S. casualties in the Iraq war. He further said that Iran has sought to use Iraqi groups to destabilize Iraq and make it inhospitable for foreign forces. Jeffrey’s remarks come days before August 31st, the deadline to end US combat operations in Iraq.

Reporter, Male #2
Seven years after entering Iraq, the Americans are finally leaving. The US presence is about to end, with the withdrawal of combat forces from Iraq, and a reduction of troop levels to below 50,000. Over the past 7 years, the Americans have influenced the political scene in Iraq, introducing new concepts to the political equation, such as election, representation, parliament, and candidate, and others, as the country moved from a single to a multiparty ruling system. With the arrival of al-Qaeda in Iraq, the Americans resorted to violence and dragged the country into a chaotic cycle of death, in a systematic campaign aimed at stirring sectarian conflicts in Iraq.

Guest, Male #3 (Aziz Jaber, Academic)
The political process, instead of creating an institutional ruling system, has created a new ruling system based on sectarianism. What they did was replace the single-party system by what I like to call the “single-sect rule.”

Reporter, Male #2
With the arrival of US forces in Iraq in 2003, English started to gain momentum, as it’s the only way to communicate with foreign troops. Along with English, the Americans influenced Iraqis in many other ways, such as introducing the art of tattooing and wearing Western clothes, which are worn by civilians and military personnel. Iraqis have expressed mixed reactions over the US withdrawal from their country, with some supporting it and others opposing it. US forces will leave Iraq but they will leave behind a culture, which may be more influential than their military presence, especially if the scientific and civil articles of the US-Iraq security agreement are implemented. Tarek Mahir, al-Arabiya, Baghdad.

Presenter, Female #1
According to local officials in the southern Iraqi province of Babil, radioactive pollution caused by the random use of weapons and shells containing depleted uranium is more lethal and destructive than weapons used in the Second World War. The province was a military target during the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq.

Reporter, Male #1
The deterioration of Iraq’s environmental conditions could be attributed to years of crippling economic sanctions and consecutive wars. Iraq may be able to overcome some of its environmental challenges once it starts the reconstruction and development efforts. However, one of the problems that will not be easily overcome revolves around the issue of radioactive pollution caused by the excessive use of depleted uranium (DU) weaponry and shells in the aftermath of the 2003 occupation of Iraq. The DU weapons are considered to be more lethal and destructive than the weapons used in the Second World War, as confirmed by Babil’s officials.

Guest, Male #2 (Kathem Mujid Tuhan, Head of Babil’s Provincial Council)
Some internationally-banned weapons were in Iraq during the Persian Gulf War, the first and second, and after the 2003 invasion by the US and foreign forces, as confirmed by media reports. The use of these weapons has not only affected humans but other living organisms as well.

Reporter, Male #1
Several problems are associated with radioactive pollution in Iraq, most notably the lack of data, reports, and surveys on the issue. Experts have used various names to describe Iraq’s environmental pollution problem, with some referring to it as a “disaster” and others as a “massacre.” They said that the province of Babil suffers from massive environmental problems that require tremendous and exceptional efforts to solve.

Guest, Male #3 (Hassan al-Tufan, Head of the Service Davison at the Babel’s Provincial Council)
The appropriate authorities, including Babil University and the departments of public health and environment, must conduct a study to assess the environmental and health hazard caused by the radiation. Then, they need to present their recommendations to the central government, which, in turn, must take the appropriate measures to combat this negative phenomenon.

Reporter, Male #1
Environmental experts in Iraq are warning that radioactive waste, which is widespread in the province of Babil, poses health risks to the residents, including cancer. Doctors of various health centers and institutions estimated that 7 people die monthly due to radiation.

Guest, Male #4 (Mohammad Reda, environmental expert)
Let it be known that dozens of people are facing death each month due to cancer related illnesses and deformities. Many mothers are concerned about birth defects and newborn deformities.

Reporter, Male #1
So far, the problem of radioactive pollution in Iraq has not gotten the attention of international organizations or the Iraqi government. Only little has been done to assess the problem of radiation in Iraq, and most of it was conducted by local environmentalists or Iraqi research centers. From Babil, Ali Sirawi, al-Alam.

Direct talks between Palestinians and Israelis are scheduled to commence in Washington on September 2, a decade after the last real final-status talks, and nearly two years after the last direct talks. Mahmoud Abbas and Benjamin Netanyahu will come face to face for dinner and talks in Washington as guests of President Obama after 18 months of shuttle diplomacy and indirect "proximity talks" headed by Special Envoy for Middle East Peace George Mitchell.

President Mubarak of Egypt and King Abdullah of Jordan, along with Tony Blair, the special representative of the Middle East Quartet are also due to join the inaugural session in Washington.

While much hope has been placed on these talks culminating in an agreement within a year, most Palestinians and Israelis remain skeptical of their success. More importantly, hopes and expectations have been inflated in some media reports, adding confusion and creating myths about what might turn up only to be yet another photo op in DC.

Here are some of the myths:

Myth No.1- They're not talking

Although Abbas and Netanyahu have not sat face to face for the past eighteen months, contacts and cooperation between the Palestinian Authority and the Israeli government have not ceased on several fronts, most notably in commerce and security.

Salam Fayyad, Prime Minister of the Palestinian National Authority, spoke at the Herzliya Conference in February alongside Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak at a time when his boss, President Mahmoud Abbas was insisting on a total halt to settlement construction before peace talks could resume. Also, Shin Bet and Israel Defense Forces senior officials have made several visits to Ramallah for meetings with senior PA officials and members of the Palestinian security services. According to the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, Shin Bet security service head Yuval Diskin recently spent a day in the West Bank city of Jenin as a guest of the Palestinian Authority's security service.

This is Diskin's second visit of this kind to Palestinian Authority territory in recent months, the aim of which is to coordinate security ties between Israel and the PA. The first visit was to Ramallah.

Myth No. 2- Settlement Freeze

Settlement construction is "business as usual" in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. Although a few projects were pushed back, construction on existing projects continues unabated. Close to half a million Israeli Jews live in more than 100 settlements built since Israel's 1967 occupation of the West Bank and East Jerusalem. More importantly, settlers have accelerated their activities taking over Palestinian homes in East Jerusalem, in Arab neighborhoods in Sheikh Jarrah, Shu'fat, and Silwan. Furthermore, in 2010, more than 240 Palestinian homes have been destroyed in Area C of the West Bank compared to 182 in all of 2009.

Myth No. 3- Security Fears

Israel's concern over security in the West Bank is exaggerated. Today the Palestinian Authority is policing the West Bank on behalf of the IDF. Very few Israeli deaths, only two in 2010, have been registered due to attacks in the West Bank. In comparison, far more Palestinians have been killed and injured by settlers and the IDF in 2010. Rocket attacks from the Gaza Strip have also subsided. Israel's main security concern these days is Iran.

"The threat that Iran poses is very grave for the state of Israel, for peace in the Middle East and the whole world," Netanyahu said in November 2009, repeating variations on this statement on several occasions.

Myth No. 4- Abbas & Netanyahu can deliver peace

Neither Prime Minister Netanyahu nor President Abbas have the mandate to deliver a peace agreement. Netanyahu would face strident opposition from within his Likud party and fierce opposition from his own foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman who has the ability and influence to unravel his fragile coalition.

Abbas also faces a complex problem of legitimacy. His term as President has expired, and under his watch, Palestinian unity was fractured when Hamas managed to route out his forces from Gaza.

Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal said recently that Abbas was too weak to stand up to Israel and negotiate a just deal at the talks in Washington.

"If the talks succeed they will succeed to Israeli standards and liquidate the Palestinian cause. They'll give us parts of 1967 lands. They'll draw the borders as they want and they'll confiscate our sovereignty," said Meshaal

Myth No. 5- No preconditions

Prime Minister Netanyahu insisted for many weeks that he was ready to come to the negotiating table in Washington, but without "preconditions." In fact both he and President Mahmoud Abbas have already announced preconditions, raising expectations and laying the groundwork for failure.

Among the preconditions laid out by Netanyahu for peace with the Palestinians is recognition of Israel as a Jewish state. Palestinians consider this condition as a non-starter, instead they'd like to delve into sensitive areas such as the construction of Jewish settlements on occupied territory, the status of Jerusalem, the borders of a future Palestinian state and the right of return, issues that will be difficult to overcome.

Meanwhile, Mahmoud Abbas has declared that he will withdraw from negotiations if settlement activity resumes. The settlement moratorium is due to expire on Sept. 26. The Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, seems unlikely to extend it.


** Mosaic News is produced by Jamal Dajani. Contact: mosaicnews{at}linktv{dot}org