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Just Journalism Newsletter 2 September 2010 New in WJS: 'The future Palestinian state takes root' Just Journalism Executive Director Michael Weiss has co-authored an op-ed in the U.S. edition of The Wall Street Journal, along with Hussein Ibish, a senior fellow at the American Task Force on Palestine, on the first-year achievements of Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad's state-building project in the West Bank. Many contentious issues could bedevil the Israeli-Palestinian negotiations that began Wednesday, but on one subject both sides can largely agree: The state-building program launched last year by Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad has made measurable progress. While the terrorist group Hamas rules in the Gaza Strip, Palestinians in the West Bank are trying to build the framework of a future state. The West Bank economy grew by 8.5% last year (according to the International Monetary Fund), despite the global recession and regional factors inhospitable to foreign investment. Palestinian GDP for the third quarter of 2009 was $1.24 billion, up from $1.18 billion a year before. Real estate in the West Bank is booming. Property prices in Ramallah have risen 30% in the last two years, according to local developers. In July, construction began on Ramallah's Ersal Commercial Center, a $400 million project expected to create thousands of new jobs. And a joint Palestinian-Qatari company is currently building Palestine's first planned city, Rawabi, a high-tech suburb with business and commercial districts and 5,000 homes. A further accelerant to the housing market will be a new $500 million mortgage fund, established by the Palestine Investment Fund, which will begin issuing loans later this year. These promising trends are reflected in the Palestine Securities Exchange, especially its main Al Quds Index, which in June experienced a 5% market capitalization increase to reach $76.8 million. According to the Portland Trust, four out of the five main sectors of the PSE increased in 2009, with banking up by 30.6%. That's one reason the European Investment Bank last December made a $6.4 million "anchor" investment in Palestine's first venture capital fund. The fund will target export-oriented information and communications technology businesses, which represent the only area of the Palestinian economy that has seen almost uninterrupted growth over the past decade. To continue reading, click here. To read Just Journalism's special report, 'Salam Fayyad and the drive towards Palestinian statehood: A comparison of British and US media coverage', clickhere. VIEWPOINT: Guardian pours cold water on talks Carmel Gould It really is sad that on the morning between Middle East massacre and peace talks a Palestinian commentator would use a platform at The Guardian to extol the virtues of Palestinian rejectionism. Ghada Karmi forecasts that Israel will scupper the up-coming direct negotiations with the Palestinians. But she's quite happy about that because of the 'real danger' of an outcome which 'falls far short of the needs of international law or elemental justice, and sets back the cause of Palestine for decades, if not for ever.' In this way, Karmi construes, Israel is the Palestinians' 'saviour'. Historically, she claims, 'All peace proposals after 1967 were based on maintaining Israel as a regional power and forcing the Palestinians to settle for less than they were entitled to. They were repeatedly offered paltry settlements that legitimised Israel's hold on most of their land and undermined their right of return. Had Israel agreed, the Palestinian cause would have been lost long ago.' While the intention is doubtless to cast Israel as the villain, solely responsible for the Palestinians' statelessness something else is revealed about why 62 years after the foundation of the State of Israel the Palestinians are still left with nothing: the fundamental Palestinian refusal to compromise. To Karmi, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is a zero sum game in which all Israeli offers are 'paltry,' and 'rights' and 'the cause' override the importance of things like Palestinian statehood, peace, jobs and bread on the table. To continue reading, click here. Times raises Israeli concerns about Palestinian extremists As President Obama called on both Israelis and Palestinians not to 'let the chance for peace to slip away', the broadsheets were full of coverage of both the White House summit intended to usher in direct peace talks, and the wider tensions surrounding the negotiations. News that Hamas yesterday conducted a second terrorist attack in as many days in the West Bank highlights Israeli concerns about making territorial concessions, without gaining security guarantees in return. But while all of the broadsheets discussed the multiple challenges that face the peace process, there was a noticeable disparity in the way that the issue of Hamas was presented. The Times was the only outlet to devote any serious analysis to what impact the Islamist organisation might have on prospects for peace, while, in other notable coverage, The Guardian and The Independent also raised the issue of Hamas' rejectionism - only to directly compare them to religious settlers living in the West Bank. The role of Hamas While not ignoring the tensions caused by settlements ('the spread of Israeli homes across the West Bank, on land [Palestinians] want for a future state, has brought despair and rage'), the editorial in The Times, 'Two-State Stalemate', comprehensively catalogued the negative impact of Hamas. The group's 'determination...to carry out atrocities' is highlighted as a key obstacle, while 'one of the greatest [causes for dismay] is the rift in the Palestinian leadership' between the Islamist group and Fatah. Describing Hamas as 'a murderous regime determined to kill Israelis and impoverish Palestinians', that 'embraces the murder of civilians to advance its cause', The Times also noted a key reason for Israeli scepticism about negotiations - that 'rocket fire from Gaza... has prompted disbelief that a Palestinian state would bring peace.' To continue reading, click here. Rally for Iranian activist Shiva Ahari - Tonight Last week, Just Journalism Executive Director Michael Weiss called attention to the plight of Iranian human rights activist Shiva Nazar Ahari, who will likely face execution as a political prisoner of Iran. This evening, from 18:00 - 20:00, outside the Iranian embassy at 16 Prince's Gate, a rally will be held to support Ahari's amnesty. Please attend if you can. To read Weiss' article on Ahari in The Weekly Standard, click here. Donating to Just Journalism Just Journalism is a not-for-profit organization and relies entirely upon the generosity of our supporters. If you wish to make a donation, please contactdonate@justjournalism.com for more information. For more information about Just Journalism, or to contact us, please visit www.justjournalism.com