[Transcript]  Mosaic News - 8/23/10: World News From The Middle East [VIDEO]

Presenter, Female #1
In a speech directed to the US and the Russian presidents, to the UN Secretary General and to the EU foreign policy chief, Palestinian President, Mahmud Abbas, said that the direct talks must be based on what he referred to as ‘references of negotiations.’ Among them are UN resolutions, the roadmap for peace, the Arab peace initiative, as well as the Madrid Conference. Meanwhile, the Arab League expressed concern over Israel’s position regarding the basis for the resumption of direct talks with the Palestinians. The group said in statement that Washington, which called for direct talks on the basis of the quartet’s principles, has a large historical responsibility as sponsor of the negotiations. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that the Palestinians must recognize Israel as a Jewish state before the launch of the direct talks set on September 2nd.
Sheruk As’ad reports from Jerusalem.

Reporter, Female #2
The Israeli Prime Minister will preside over the direct talks, twenty months after their suspension. The talks will launch on a shaky ground amidst the notable disagreement on principles. Speaking before senior members of his cabinet, Netanyahu set the terms for negotiations, with the security concern topping his list of priority. The Israeli prime minister said that the Palestinians must recognize Israel as a national state of the Jewish people.

Guest, Male #1, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
First, we must take unequivocal and practical security arrangements on the ground. Second, we must preserve Israel as a national state of the Jewish people. This means resolving the right of return within the borders of the Palestinian state.

Guest, Male #2, Azzam al-Ahmad, Head of Fatah Parliamentary Bloc
We will not recognize Israel as Jewish state, under any circumstances, not now, not in the future. Netanyahu’s remarks are nothing more than an attempt to impede the negotiations before they are launched. It’s definitely a shaky start.

Reporter, Female #2
The Palestinians are heading to the direct talks on the basis of the quartet’s principles, which have not openly called for a settlement freeze. The quartet’s statement called on both sides to abide by previous resolutions, which include the settlement freeze and the 1967 border line.

Guest, Male #3, Sa’eb Erikat, Palestinian Chief Negotiator
The entire world is now watching. The international community was the one to issue the quartet’s statement, which we accepted. President Abu Mazen advised the Americans that in the event Israel continues to build settlements after September 26, we will not take part in the direct talks.

Reporter, Female #2
Netanyahu is saying that the demarcation of borders will be based on Israel’s need for security, his country will not freeze its settlement activities, and the goal is to reach a preliminary agreement. In contrast, the Palestinians want to resolve all their final status issues, including Jerusalem and the refugees. Netanyahu has not publicly accepted the quartet’s statement. He only accpted an invitation from the US secretary of state to attend direct talks without preconditions. The points of disagreement are dominating the agenda of the Palestinian-Israel talks. One of the practical tests for such talks may crystallize on September 26, which Israel sets as deadline for its partial settlement freeze. A deadline that Israel will not likely extend. Meanwhile, the majority in Israeli public believe that Netanyahu wants to go to the direct talks for one reason, which is security. Sheruk As’ad, Dubai TV, occupied Jerusalem.

Ahead of next week’s launch of direct peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians, PA President Mahmud Abbas has fired off letters to US President Barack Obama, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton. In those letters, Abbas repeats the threat issued over the weekend by chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat and warns that renewed Israeli construction in the settlements when the building moratorium runs out, would bring the negotiations to a halt.

Presenter, Female #1
The West Bank’s northern Aghwar region, known as the Jordan Valley, is witnessing an unprecedented campaign aimed at judifying the Palestinian territories. Israel continues to confiscate and annex the Aghwar territory in order to expand the settlements and seize control of all vital installations in the region, which is home to the largest underground aquifer in occupied Palestine.

Reporter, Male #1
It’s a territory stretching over hundreds of square kilometers and was once an evergreen territory. However, today, the territory is being overrun by dozens of Israeli settlement outposts that seem to be expanding day-by-day. The Palestinian residents of Aghwar, also known as the Northern Aghwar Territory, have expressed fear over losing what remains of their land. The Northern Aghwar region, which makes up one fourth of the West Bank’s total area, is home to nearly 47% of underground Palestinian water resources. Over the past decades, the occupation “entity” has launched a series of campaigns aimed at expelling Palestinians from the Aghwar region. However, Israel has intensified its judification campaign in recent years in an attempt to seize full control of the Aghwar region. Palestinian residents continue to receive home demolition notices on a daily basis, under military and security pretexts. The aim is to force Palestinian residents out of their homes, confiscate their land, and appropriate their agricultural and water resources. The total area of Aghwar, including the dozens of villages and dwellings in the valley, stands at 1,303 square kilometers, with nearly 70% falling under Israeli control. Most of the confiscated land is used for settlements and military training camps. In addition, Israel has full control over the region’s natural resources, including its underground aquifer. The Aghwar region is slowly dying due to the judification campaign launched by the Israeli authorities. Aghwar residents don’t have access to water, electricity or public services, as the occupation authorities prevent the launch of any developmental projects in the region. According to the latest figures, nearly 10,000 Israeli settlers live in the Northern Aghwar region, distributed over 12 settlements. The settlers’ consumption of water is 5 times larger than that of their Palestinian counterparts. The settlers have full control of water resources in the region, which is often referred to by the Israeli entity as the “Eastern protective wall.” In contrast, Palestinians are denied access to water resources. Many Palestinian water wells have dried up or were drained by the occupation authorities. Israel doesn’t allow Palestinians to restore or expand old water wells, or dig new ones. Nearly 50% of Aghwar’s land is being farmed, accounting for 60% of the total Palestinian vegetable production, 40% of its citric and 100% of its banana production. The Israeli goal is to force Palestinians out of their homes and lands in order to confiscate and annex the region. Aghwar accounts for nearly 25% of the West Bank’s total area, stretching from the Dead Sea region to the northern West Bank region. Jericho and Auja are currently under the security control of the Palestinian Authority. The rest of the Aghwar territory is referred to as “Area A and Area G” under the terms of the Oslo agreement. Nearly 90% of this territory falls under Zionist security control.

Presenter, Female #1
Dozens of supporters and opponents of the plan to build a mosque and an Islamic cultural center near the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center staged rival protests in New York City.

Reporter, Male #1
Supporters and opponents of the plan to build a mosque near the site of the September 11th attacks staged peaceful rival protests in New York City. Though small in scale, the street protests reflect a national debate over a proposed plan to build an Islamic cultural center, includes a mosque, on private land near the symbolic site of the September 11th attacks that took place nearly 9 years ago. US President Barack Obama’s support for the proposed mosque has stirred uproar, prompting the president to clarify his position, saying it’s a matter of principle. Meanwhile, Imam Faisal Abdul Rauf, who is leading the development of the proposed mosque in NY City, arrived in the Gulf region on a Mideast tour funded by the US State Department, as part of a campaign to spread the culture of tolerance. Speaking during Iftar at a gathering in the US embassy in Manama, Sheikh Abed Rauf explained the reasons behind building the mosque on this particular site.

Guest, Male #2 (Imam Faisal Abdul Rauf, NY Mosque Promoter)
We have to strengthen our efforts, and all of us must work in this together. I would like to commend President Obama’s supportive stance on the project. I would also like to commend Mayor Bloomberg and anyone adopting the same position.

Reporter, Male #1
Sheikh Abed Rauf is expected to extend his tour to other Mideast countries, including the UAE and Qatar, in order to explain the US stance on the proposed mosque.

Presenter, Female #1
Two NATO soldiers, among them one American, were killed in double blasts by explosive devices in northern and southern parts of the country. This makes the death toll of NATO soldiers this month to 44, including 29 Americans. The death of two soldiers came after 4 American soldiers were killed yesterday in an intense combat in eastern and southern parts of Afghanistan. The top commander of US and NATO forces in Afghanistan General David Petraeus affirmed that his troops gained momentum over the Taliban in a number of regions. But he expects fierce battles in other regions in order to reverse the momentum from the Taliban. In an interview on BBC, the US commander reaffirmed that the scheduled withdrawal date for the US troops in July, 2011 remains a stake to the conditions on the ground.

Reporter, Male #1
The new top commander of NATO forces in Afghanistan Gen. David Petraeus seems more confident every day about achieving a victory in Afghanistan. He affirmed to BBC that his forces have taken the momentum from the Taliban in a number of areas. But he is not overly-confident.

Guest, Male #1, Petraeus
“I think the reality is that the momentum of the Taliban had established over the course of recent years has been reversed in many areas of the country, and will be reversed in other areas as well.” “And that’s not enough, you not only have to reverse the momentum, you have to take away the sanctuaries and safe havens that the Taliban have been able to establish over the course of those years that they enjoy the momentum, that’s going to entail tough fighting.”

Reporter, Male #1
The US commander was not assertive in his talk about the scheduled date for the US troops to withdraw from Afghanistan which was set by the US president Barack Obama to be in July, 2011.

Guest, Male #1
“That’s a date when a process begins, nothing more, nothing less.” “It’s not a date when the American forces begin an exodus and look for the exit and the light to turn off on the way out of the room.” “It’s a date when a process of transition of some tasks to some Afghan forces in those areas where the conditions allow it, and at a pace allowed by the conditions that’s what begins it.”


Reporter, Male #1
The military commander warned that the war would be more difficult this year, when the forces proceed to carry out the plan to take over the Taliban’s strongholds in the south.
July was one the bloodiest months for the US army in this war since it started 9 years ago. Before that, June was the bloodiest month for the NATO forces. Petraeus, who replaced US general Stanley McChrystal about a month ago, commands 150,000 soldiers in US and NATO forces. The US president promised in his announcement of the US strategy for the war in December, 2009 to send 30,000 additional US soldiers to Afghanistan. Obama is also determined to review his Afghanistan strategy after the congressional elections in November. Despite the congress’s support to Obama’s plan of strengthening the forces, surveys show that the public opinion is still doubtful about the war and its feasibility. Ashraf Naghi, BBC.

Afghanistan blames its Western allies for most of the corruption in the war-torn country. Presidential spokesman Omar Waheed says Afghanistan’s foreign partners have paved the grounds for the creation of economic mafias. He says security deals between US-led forces and private security firms operating in Afghanistan top the corrupt contracts.

Presenter, Male #1
The dire situation has not eased for the millions of Pakistanis affected by the floods which have been inundating the country for about a month.

Presenter, Female #1
New waves of flooding have terrified people and forced more residents in southern Pakistan to flee their homes in extreme brutal conditions during Ramadan. More than 4 million people have no shelter. The UN Secretary General described the catastrophe in Pakistan as a “slow-motion tsunami”.

Presenter, Male #1
Aljazeera correspondent Ahmed Barakat tells us about the suffering that the flood victims are enduring.

Reporter, Male #1
The water level of River Indus rises at one time and falls at another; and the level of alert in the village near the river rises and falls with it. The mud barrier that the residents of villages near Shāhbāt relied on for protection has collapsed. This has led to new large-scale waves of migration from these areas to other places. When the refugee camps became too full to hold more people, hundreds of families fled to stay in colleges and schools in poor conditions. Perhaps the hardest thing that these people are suffering from is the psychological impact due to displacement and loss of income. Both adults and children are worried.

Guest, Male #1,
We are suffering from diseases, especially malaria and depression. There are no doctors from the government, and the medicines are useless. Because we’re poor, the hospitals don’t pay us any attention.

Reporter, Male #1,
The hospitals in Sukkur are crowded with patients of various ages. Children have it the worst cases. Millions of them are suffering from dehydration, malnutrition and diseases caused by contaminated water, in addition to the high temperature and the harsh living conditions. The doctors say that the matter is beyond their capability, and the hospitals are no longer able to hold the increasing number of patients.


Guest, Male #2, director of children’s department in Sukkur Hospital
“We hospitalized them, we can’t hospitalize so many patients”. Every day I treat 30 to 40 children suffering from stomach diseases. During the past 24 hours we’ve received more than 100 children with diarrhea, and we can treat no more than that.

Reporter, Male #1,
Severe diarrheas have killed dozens of children before they could even reach the hospitals. These who were checked in one or two days ago are still lying in bed waiting to be treated. Everyone is complaining about their deteriorating health conditions. The receding of floods and the reconstruction of buildings are only matters of time. But experts say that the most difficult task is to rehabilitate these patients who are suffering from all kinds of problems. Ahmed Barakat, Aljazeera, Sukkur, Sindh region.

Presenter, Female #1
As part of our series “Your Day in Ramadan”, we will introduce you today to a Palestinian family who works together to make bread and numerous types of Ramadan pastries. Abdul Hafith Ja’awan has the details.

Reporter, Male #1
This is the scene of a Ramadan morning in a family bakery. The children are working together to prepare Shirak bread; the mother is preparing the dough in anticipation of a long day. As for the father, he’s burning firewood and setting up the fire, announcing the beginning of a Ramadan day for the Abu Mohamed family.

Guest, Male #1 (Misbah Shamiya, owner of the bakery)
We thank God, even though it’s hot and even hotter in here. If you don’t work hard, you don’t appreciate the sweet things.

Reporter, Male #1
Abu Mohamed taught his family his bread-making skill. His wife, sons and daughters work together as one.Throughout the day, they move in between the dough, fire and bread, to serve their customers and sell various types of bread.The parents buy and prepare the food, then place it in the wood-fired oven, to be later served in a delicious Iftar meal.

Guest, Male #1
We all work together my boys and girls. Sometimes they get upset with each other, and get frustrated; they slap each other around, you know what I mean? Even though they argue sometimes, they laugh a lot too. Life is beautiful with all its components: sadness, sweetness, satisfaction. Thank God, we’re very happy together.

Reporter, Male #1
Who’s the boss here? Who’s in charge?

Guest, Male #1
The problem is that when it comes to money, everybody is the boss.

Guest, Female #1 (Um Mohamed, wife of the owner)
They give me a hard time. And I give them a hard time too, I can’t help it. There are arguments and happy moments. I get upset from time to time, but I put up with it.

Reporter, Male #1
The family overcomes the difficulties of fasting in this scorching heat through the joy of collective work and their family bond. They work until it’s time for dusk prayer, when Abu Mohamed washes himself, and the last customer leaves his bakery carrying delicious traditional bread made in the wood-fired oven. Abdul Hafith Ja’awan, al-Arabiya, the Palestinian territories.


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