Fareed Zakaria interview w/ Hind Khoury (PBS)

[Wordie]

Hind Khoury is Palestinian Minister of State for Jerusalem Affairs.
This program was broadcast on Fareed Zakaria's Foreign Exchange, on PBS this evening.

Text transcript not yet available, but the media versions are here:
http://nmmstream.net:8080/ramgen/forex/12show.rm (Real Video); and here: http://nmmstream.net:8080/asxgen/forex/12show.wmv (Windows Media)

<snip>
Hind Khoury
Guest Profiles
Hind Khoury
Mrs. Khoury joined the Government of Palestine as Minister of State in early 2005, and is responsible for Jerusalem affairs and raising awareness of Jerusalem as a vital issue in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Minister Khoury has been a leader in Palestinian civic society for many years as an expert in development and women’s and religious affairs.
Show 36 (For some reason the show link does not work for me; if you find that it does, and it links to the text transcript, please post it. I'll keep watching for it too, and post it when it's available. Thanks. Wordie)

[Wordie]

1. Here is a link to the Foreign Exchange site, which I neglected to post.

http://foreignexchange.tv/?q=node/812

If you haven't seen the program, you might want to check it out. It is the sort of in-depth foriegn affairs program that I know I have hungered for (being frustrated with the sound-bite information most commonly available). It appears in my area right after NOW, on PBS.

I'm still trying to get the transcript of the interview, as it is quite informative. Will update here when I get it; I invite anyone else who might run across it to post it also.

One thing that Minister Khouri was mentioning was that the area in Jerusalem, called Abu Dis, set aside by the Israelis as a possible Palestinian capital is completely unacceptable. It is surrounded by the wall, with no area for expansion and not a proper capital site.

[Wordie]

2. Transcript is finally available! This was a highly informative program.

I've selected just a few of Minister Khoury's statements, I urge everyone to read the entire interview. To offer as much info as possible I've paraphrased Fareed Zakaria's questions, which I show in parens. The interview is about half-way down the page, here: http://foreignexchange.tv/?q=node/824
Scroll down to where it says "In Depth: Middle East Peace?"

(Question from Fareed Zakaria about whether the withdrawal from Gaza changed anything.)

Hind Khoury: This engagement from Gaza was used as one successful step hopefully towards peace in the Middle East and the implementation of the roadmap. Unfortunately, the--the way we see it is that it’s engagement from Gaza has been used as a smokescreen to implement measures furthering and deepening the occupation of Jerusalem and this is a major threat.

(Question from Fareed Zakaria about what Israel has done to change the facts on the ground in Jerusalem--in East Jerusalem?)

Hind Khoury: Well Israel inconsistent with the International Court of Justice ruling is continuing to build the wall around East Jerusalem separating Palestinian from Palestinian and not separating Palestinian from Israeli. The wall will be isolating East Jerusalem from the rest of the West Bank and tearing up the socioeconomic fabric of the whole area of the West Bank and especially in the central area of Bethlehem, Jerusalem and Emilia especially between Bethlehem and Jerusalem which have been through history twin cities; they have never been separated.

(Fareed Zakaria question about the final status of Jerusalem)

Hind Khoury: Listen; 1967 border more or less should be the border we’re talking about. We can negotiate changes to that, but you can't say Abu Dis which is a village and the periphery and towards the desert in the Jerusalem area is going to be the capital. Jerusalem is the social culture and religious center of the Palestinian people. It’s not Abu Dis; it’s Jerusalem. We have been denied access to our religious sites for most of this time both Christians and Muslims.

(Zakaria asks whether this is a negotiating position or if she is saying that Abu Dis is not an acceptable answer.)

Hind Khoury: I--I can assure you that this is—Abu Dis is not Jerusalem. Jerusalem is the old city of Jerusalem and the periphery of Jerusalem; it’s the--the Jerusalem we have been always talking about. Actually Abu Dis now is outside the wall and it’s--it’s an enclosed ghetto. It has wall all around it without any possibility for a growth of development. Let’s be very realistic. This cannot be a capital; go and have a look yourself and see--no way that could be a city. This has been a village that’s now heavily inhabited because people could build there when they were not allowed to build inside the city itself.

I'd also like to add that Miniser Khoury is a woman.