Startling revelations contained in Al Jazeera's 'Palestine Papers'

By Ashahed M. Muhammad -Asst. Editor- | Last updated: Jan 25, 2011 - 4:41:20 PM

(FinalCall.com) - Nearly two months after the international community was rocked by revelations contained in Wikileaks, another leak of internal documents could prove even more consequential.

Al Jazeera announced they have obtained more than 1,600 internal documents from a decade of Israeli-Palestinian negotiations.

According to the news organization, they have been given “unhindered access to the largest-ever leak of confidential documents related to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict which claim to detail inner-workings of the peace process, including diplomatic negotiations.

They began posting what they are calling “The Palestine Papers,” on the internet January 23.

The documents include memos, emails, maps, minutes from high-level meetings as well as PowerPoint presentations, all from between the years 1999 to 2010.

New details are revealed regarding the Palestinian Authority’s willingness to concede illegal Israeli settlements in East Jerusalem, the Palestinian Authority’s views on refugees and the right of return and their cooperation with the Israeli government. There are also details of talks between Palestinian and American negotiators in late 2009, involving the Goldstone Report and its discussion at the United Nations.

Because of the sensitive nature of the documents, Al Jazeera is protecting the sources, however, according to their website, they “have taken great care over an extended period of time to assure,” the authenticity of the files.

With the launch of their English language channel in November of 2006, Al Jazeera has begun to challenge the former dominance of BBC and CNN in the area of worldwide news reporting by providing a more balanced view of current events, especially related to the Middle East.

The Al Jazeera Transparency Unit (AJTU) is a newly-created entity formed by the news organization to receive confi dential news tips, documents and other materials that have been published. They are the group responsible for making The Palestine Papers public. The documents are available on the web at http://www.ajtransparency.com.

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