Palestine mobile operator struggles for room to breathe

Palestinians signing up to their new network, Wataniya, will be disappointed come the October 15 launch date, as there won't be a network unless Israel hands over another 1MHz of spectrum. The frequency deal was brokered by our own Tony Blair, in his role as envoy to the Middle East, and was supposed to see Wataniya holding at …

[Anonymous Coward]

Hardly inexplicable

Quite explicable in fact if you follow relationships between the players. Nice job at tip-toeing round the issues though !

[Al fazed]

What ?

Just 'cos in this place it isn't THAT obvious that we are all under that facsist jackboot, it doesn't make it any better here, just outlines how f*ckin gullible we are here in UK.

ALF

[Boyturtle]

No surprise there then...

Israel restrict every damn thing in Palestinian lives, water, food, electricity, freedom of movement so why should telecoms be any different? All this with the blessing of the USA and the complicity of the remaining major world powers.

Still, no doubt Tony Blair will get another million quid for having brokered this wonderful

[Anonymous Coward]

I'm sure Israel will propose a proportional response

To the Palestinian request for the bandwidth.

Like maybe destroying a couple of cities/bridges/schools or something like that

[Anonymous Coward]

heh

Land and now frequency grabbers. Who would have thunked it ?

[Anonymous Coward]

Blair,, the honest broker

Blair is hardly an honest broker.

He pushed for the isolation of Gaza in the EU and blocked a deal whereby the gas from the Gazan's offshore field could be brought ashore in Egypt.

Guess what? Blair wants it to go to via Israel instead.

The Goldstone report noted the destruction of Gaza’s only working flour mill “for the purposes of denying sustenance to the civilian population” and the “systematic”, “deliberate” and “wanton” destruction of chicken coops housing tens of thousands of chickens, which supplied over 10% of Gaza’s egg market.

Israelis in Sderot were obviously living in fear of bread and pancake bombs.

[Mike B]

Bread and pancake bombs?

Thirteen residents of Sderot have been killed by 'bread and pancake bombs' launched from Gaza.

[Anonymous Coward]

withdraw appeal to International Criminal Court or else

The reason for denying the Palestinians a second cellular network has been reported in the Israeli newspaper Haaretz. Following the Goldstone report on war crimes in Gaza, the Palestinian Authority has appealed to the International Criminal Court to take action against the perpetrators

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1117296.html

"…The chief of staff conditioned his approval of a second cellular provider to the Palestinians’ withdrawing their appeal to the court.

“The PA has reached the point where it has to decide whether it is working with us or against us,” senior figures in the defense establishment have said."

Note that it's the IDF chief of staff who decides what sort of telecoms infrastructure the Palestinians may have.

This link has more details

http://www.richardsilverstein.com/tikun_olam/2009/09/28/israel-to-pa-rescind-appeal-to-criminal-court-or-else/

[Steven Griffiths]

Inexplicable?

HAH!

Come on El Reg, if you're going to write stories like this that ignore the obvious reasons then at least give it to someone who knows how to use sarcasm.

[Anonymous Coward]

Pathetic

You would have thought that a race so persecuted throught history would have learnt by now that it's not nice to persecute another people just because of their belief system.

[h4rm0ny]

Tony Blair

Making that man Middle East Peace Envoy was like making King Herod the Minister for Children. A sick joke and a overt slap in the face to many millions living in the region.

[Mr..So..Serious]

Surprised?

No, me neither.

[Anonymous Coward]

Food bombs?

@Mike B

And the military aim of destroying food producers (apart from being a war crime) was?

During the summer cease fire, not one Israeli was killed by rocket fire. Indeed, Hamas did not fire any. What did Israel do? Instead of lifting the siege as promised and thereby protecting their citizens in Sderot, they drew up secret plans for 'Cast Lead'. A sick name which accurately described what was perpetrated on a defenceless population. When the threat of peace breaks out, Israel attacks someone or screams at Iran (now that Iraq has been paid for by the US and their poodle).

[redbook]

Is it a bird? Is it a plane?

Is there no end to his talents? Ruin, er sorry, running a country, world peace and now mobile phone frequency allocations.

He should become an Olympic swimmer. He'd walk it.

[BlueGreen]

looks like my boycott of israeli stuff will continue

for what it's worth. Don't know what else to do.

@Mike B - I think you'll find those bombs were made with explosives rather than batter & dough. However I'm not an expert so if you can correct me I'd be grateful.

[Anonymous Coward]

AC at 11:56

Thats stretching the truth a little. Hamas may have said that they were not launching rockets from territory they control (and are therefore responsible for)...may even be partially true.

Fact is rockets continued to be LAUNCHED from Gaza and LAND in Sderot.

Now it may have been the Popular Front for Judea or the Judean Peoples Front or the Dagenham Girl Pipers LAUNCHING them but land in Sderot on a completey regular basis they did.

Not unreasonably given that Humus controlled the launch site territory, Israel concluded that either Humus could not control their own military or were in some way complicit in the launch. Rather akin to the IRA and Sinn Fein. It's a thin skin of difference between the two.

If I lived in Sderot I would have wanted the Launchers (maybe it was the PFJ?) to be dealt with with utmost severity.

Don't worry about your personal embargo ... I'll spend double on Israeli goods for myself and think of you mate.

[asdf]

no winners only thousands of year old losers

Ack as a merkin all I can say why the hell are we so involved in this sick sad mexican standoff. Both sides are just as evil as the other and it never ceases to amaze me in this region in the world what passes for morality, truth and justice. Oh well put this article in the waybackmachine so our grandkids can see nothing has changed in a century from now just like the past two millenium. Depressing.

[ian 22]

Odd, I read the subtitle as

"Palestinian mortar operator..."

[Armus Squelprom]

Utterly Disgraceful Behaviour

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1117296.html

"…The chief of staff conditioned his approval of a second cellular provider to the Palestinians’ withdrawing their appeal to the court."

That is an appallingly cynical and bullying stance, and a matter of shame for Israel.

[Anonymous Coward]

Palestinian delegation's "surprise turnaround"

For anyone still following this story

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5h5Gu4OHrnPvRv0FRr6bLkFBuCcMgD9B2KO6O3

"But the Palestinian Authority, under heavy pressure from the United States, has withdrawn its support for a U.N. Human Rights Council resolution on alleged war crimes in Gaza, diplomats in Geneva said Thursday.

U.N. and European diplomats, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter with reporters, said the Palestinian delegation’s surprise turnaround means any resolution on the report would likely be delayed until next March."

Looks as if the IDF will now approve the cellular network