21 july 2013
A Palestinian report hailed the European Union's decision to prevent funding or cooperating with people, institutions or organizations from settlements in the occupied West Bank and Jerusalem. The Palestinian National Office for the defense of land and the resistance of settlement said in a report on Sunday that the Israeli response to the decision of the European Union was "hysterical".
The report pointed out that the Israeli government continued to approve more settlement schemes, as the Supreme Council for Planning and Building approved new plans to build more than a thousand new housing units in settlements in Ramallah, in addition to 732 new housing units will be built in the Jordan Valley.
The report revealed that the Israeli government began the construction of the longest street in West Bank which extends at 183 kilometer, and which will connect the cities of the occupied territories with the settlements built on West Bank lands.
The report pointed out that the Israeli government continued to approve more settlement schemes, as the Supreme Council for Planning and Building approved new plans to build more than a thousand new housing units in settlements in Ramallah, in addition to 732 new housing units will be built in the Jordan Valley.
The report revealed that the Israeli government began the construction of the longest street in West Bank which extends at 183 kilometer, and which will connect the cities of the occupied territories with the settlements built on West Bank lands.
A US announcement that Middle East peace talks are to resume, possibly as early as next week, was met Sunday with a wall of skepticism from Israeli officials and commentators.
Analysts said the negotiations, announced on Friday by US Secretary of State John Kerry, were doomed to fail, while cabinet ministers and senior officials reacted with caution and even outright opposition to the plan.
"Such talks were held 21 years ago. They failed utterly," wrote Nahum Barnea, right-leaning columnist for top-selling daily Yediot Aharonot.
"Negotiations aren't a goal," he continued. "They are just a means. The way in which Kerry is dealing with the conflict will almost certainly lead to yet another failure, and the resulting crash."
The center-right Maariv daily agreed: "(Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu ... got a process with no peace right from the start; no negotiations based on the 1967 borders with a land swap... (and) no freeze of the settlements," it said in an editorial.
Palestinians have long demanded that peace talks be based on the 1967 lines that existed before Israel occupied the West Bank, and have stressed that settlement building in the territory must be frozen before they would resume talks.
Israel has insisted that there be no such "preconditions".
The exact basis for Kerry's plan remains unknown, but commentators thought it unlikely agreement would already have been reached on such sensitive issues.
"The gap between the objectives of the two sides is unfathomable; mutual suspicion runs high... at the moment there are no conditions pushing the sides... toward painful concessions," Barnea wrote.
Kerry has given away very little detail of the agreement, which came after months of intense consultations with Israeli and Palestinian leaders, beyond saying both sides had reached "an agreement that establishes a basis for resuming direct final status negotiations".
Due to the lack of detail about the peace talks, speculation is swirling as to how exactly Kerry managed to convince the two sides to agree to come together.
"There is no Israeli declaration that the basis for the talks is the 1967 borders, there is no freeze of construction in any kind in (the West Bank), and there is no prisoner release before the talks begin," Yediot quoted an Israeli official as saying.
Maariv reported that Netanyahu might have agreed to an "unofficial" settlement freeze.
And many media outlets latched onto and fiercely criticized the planned release of Palestinian prisoners -- announced on Saturday by Intelligence Minister Yuval Steinitz as a "gesture" towards the peace talks -- with some rumoring it could happen at the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
"Veteran terrorists will go home," said a Maariv editorial.
Comment from high-ranking Israeli officials appeared to justify the commentators' cynicism.
"I am against a Palestinian state," Transport Minister Yisrael Katz, a member of Netanyahu's own Likud party, told AFP on his way into a cabinet meeting.
"I can (only) support starting talks that are not preconditioned on the 1967 borders or a settlement freeze," he said.
Steinitz, before the same meeting, said Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas "doesn't seem eager to negotiate, or strong and determined enough to make the concessions necessary from the Palestinian side."
Housing Minister Uri Ariel told Maariv he opposed a settlement freeze.
"I will not lend a hand to an immoral and non-Jewish act that will enable a construction freeze in Jerusalem and in the settlements," he said in reference to occupied east Jerusalem, even vowing to ensure more settlements were built.
The Palestinians too remained cautious.
Chief PLO negotiator Saeb Erekat -- who will travel to Washington to begin talks with his Israeli counterpart Justice Minister Tzipi Livni -- told Maariv that neither side had yet received the promised invite from Washington.
He added that the US had still not "relayed clear answers to basic questions such as the 1967 borders, construction in the settlements and a prisoner release. It is too early to declare any progress."
Former negotiator Uri Savir, who led Israel's team at the talks leading up to the 1993 Oslo Accord, told BBC radio on Sunday that he thinks the planned talks do indeed have merit.
"I think they will (achieve something)," he said.
"One should not look only at the starting point and the very end point of a permanent status peace agreement."
He likened Kerry's efforts to those of "Superman".
"He conducted something that nobody has achieved in three years, which is to bring the sides to talk to each other directly."
"This is quite an achievement."
Analysts said the negotiations, announced on Friday by US Secretary of State John Kerry, were doomed to fail, while cabinet ministers and senior officials reacted with caution and even outright opposition to the plan.
"Such talks were held 21 years ago. They failed utterly," wrote Nahum Barnea, right-leaning columnist for top-selling daily Yediot Aharonot.
"Negotiations aren't a goal," he continued. "They are just a means. The way in which Kerry is dealing with the conflict will almost certainly lead to yet another failure, and the resulting crash."
The center-right Maariv daily agreed: "(Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu ... got a process with no peace right from the start; no negotiations based on the 1967 borders with a land swap... (and) no freeze of the settlements," it said in an editorial.
Palestinians have long demanded that peace talks be based on the 1967 lines that existed before Israel occupied the West Bank, and have stressed that settlement building in the territory must be frozen before they would resume talks.
Israel has insisted that there be no such "preconditions".
The exact basis for Kerry's plan remains unknown, but commentators thought it unlikely agreement would already have been reached on such sensitive issues.
"The gap between the objectives of the two sides is unfathomable; mutual suspicion runs high... at the moment there are no conditions pushing the sides... toward painful concessions," Barnea wrote.
Kerry has given away very little detail of the agreement, which came after months of intense consultations with Israeli and Palestinian leaders, beyond saying both sides had reached "an agreement that establishes a basis for resuming direct final status negotiations".
Due to the lack of detail about the peace talks, speculation is swirling as to how exactly Kerry managed to convince the two sides to agree to come together.
"There is no Israeli declaration that the basis for the talks is the 1967 borders, there is no freeze of construction in any kind in (the West Bank), and there is no prisoner release before the talks begin," Yediot quoted an Israeli official as saying.
Maariv reported that Netanyahu might have agreed to an "unofficial" settlement freeze.
And many media outlets latched onto and fiercely criticized the planned release of Palestinian prisoners -- announced on Saturday by Intelligence Minister Yuval Steinitz as a "gesture" towards the peace talks -- with some rumoring it could happen at the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
"Veteran terrorists will go home," said a Maariv editorial.
Comment from high-ranking Israeli officials appeared to justify the commentators' cynicism.
"I am against a Palestinian state," Transport Minister Yisrael Katz, a member of Netanyahu's own Likud party, told AFP on his way into a cabinet meeting.
"I can (only) support starting talks that are not preconditioned on the 1967 borders or a settlement freeze," he said.
Steinitz, before the same meeting, said Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas "doesn't seem eager to negotiate, or strong and determined enough to make the concessions necessary from the Palestinian side."
Housing Minister Uri Ariel told Maariv he opposed a settlement freeze.
"I will not lend a hand to an immoral and non-Jewish act that will enable a construction freeze in Jerusalem and in the settlements," he said in reference to occupied east Jerusalem, even vowing to ensure more settlements were built.
The Palestinians too remained cautious.
Chief PLO negotiator Saeb Erekat -- who will travel to Washington to begin talks with his Israeli counterpart Justice Minister Tzipi Livni -- told Maariv that neither side had yet received the promised invite from Washington.
He added that the US had still not "relayed clear answers to basic questions such as the 1967 borders, construction in the settlements and a prisoner release. It is too early to declare any progress."
Former negotiator Uri Savir, who led Israel's team at the talks leading up to the 1993 Oslo Accord, told BBC radio on Sunday that he thinks the planned talks do indeed have merit.
"I think they will (achieve something)," he said.
"One should not look only at the starting point and the very end point of a permanent status peace agreement."
He likened Kerry's efforts to those of "Superman".
"He conducted something that nobody has achieved in three years, which is to bring the sides to talk to each other directly."
"This is quite an achievement."
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says resuming stalled peace talks with the Palestinians will not be easy.
During a weekly cabinet meeting, Netanyahu told Israeli ministers that any draft treaty would be put to a referendum.
Netanyahu remarks came after US Secretary of State John Kerry said on Friday that the Palestinian Authority (PA) and Israel have agreed to meet and prepare for the resumption of talks.
Netanyahu said he hoped the talks would be held "in a responsible, practical and serious manner."
Kerry has visited the Middle East six times in an effort to resume talks, which have been stalled since September 2010 due to the illegal expansion of Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories.
Although the PA has called for a halt to the construction of illegal settlements, Israeli ministers have voiced opposition to a freeze on settlement expansion.
"It's inappropriate for the Jewish people, for the land of Israel and for a sovereign state," Housing Minister Uri Ariel said. "We are in favor of building as much as possible."
On July 19, spokesman for the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas, Sami Abu Zuhri, rejected the proposal made by Kerry for the resumption of talks between the two sides.
The presence and continued expansion of Israeli settlements in occupied Palestine has created a major obstacle for the efforts to establish peace in the Middle East.
More than half a million Israelis live in over 120 illegal settlements built since Israel’s occupation of the Palestinian territories of the West Bank and East al-Quds more than four decades ago.
The Palestinians are seeking to create an independent state on the territories of the West Bank, East al-Quds (Jerusalem), and the Gaza Strip and are demanding that Israel withdraw from the Palestinian territories occupied in the Six-Day War of 1967.
Tel Aviv, however, has refused to return to the 1967 borders and is unwilling to discuss the issue of al-Quds.
The United Nations and most countries regard the Israeli settlements as illegal because the territories were captured by Israel in a war and are hence subject to the Geneva Conventions, which forbids construction on occupied lands.
Israeli PM says any peace deal will be put to referendum
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned ministers Sunday that renewed peace talks with the Palestinian Authority will be tough, and said any draft treaty would be put to a referendum.
US Secretary of State John Kerry on Friday said Israeli and Palestinian negotiators had agreed to meet to prepare a resumption of direct peace talks, stalled since 2010.
"Negotiations won't be easy but we're entering them honestly, sincerely," Netanyahu told ministers at the weekly cabinet meeting, the first since Kerry's announcement.
The premier repeated pledges that if the talks produced a draft treaty he would put it to a referendum.
He also said he hoped the negotiations would be held "in a responsible, practical and serious manner".
Netanyahu spoke after two hardline ministers in his right-wing government came out strongly against any possible slowdown in Jewish settlement building as part of the deal.
"We must not have a freeze," Transport Minister Israel Katz, a member of Netanyahu's own Likud party, told public radio.
"It would be immoral, un-Jewish and inhuman to freeze the lives of people and their children."
Israeli media have said that while there will be no formal declaration of a settlement freeze, a key Palestinian demand for talks to resume, Netanyahu will quietly halt building for the time being.
"The official policy is what counts," Katz added. "I am against a freeze and I don't believe that such a thing will happen. Settlement is strong and growing."
The last round of direct talks between the two sides nearly three years ago broke down over the issue of Israeli settlement building in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
Housing Minister Uri Ariel of the far-right Jewish Home party told public radio on Sunday that he did not want to consider even a limited freeze.
"It's inappropriate for the Jewish people, for the land of Israel and for a sovereign state," he said. "We are in favor of building as much as possible."
Kerry on Friday gave away very little about the agreement, which came after four days of frenetic consultations with Israeli and Palestinian leaders on his sixth mission to the region in as many months.
But president Mahmoud Abbas has repeatedly stressed that his demands for a freeze to Israeli settlement building on occupied land and release of prisoners held by Israel must be met before talks can resume.
Intelligence Minister Yuval Steinitz on Saturday announced there would be the release a "limited" number of Palestinian prisoners as a "gesture" for the talks.
Katz on Sunday took issue with this.
"I personally oppose the release of terrorist murderers. If the matter arises in future in the cabinet I shall vote against it," he said.
Israeli President Shimon Peres's office said on Sunday he called Abbas late on Saturday, welcoming the Palestinian leader's decision to renew talks.
"You took a brave and historic decision to return to the negotiating table," Peres was quoted as telling Abbas. "Don't listen to the skeptics, you did the right thing."
During a weekly cabinet meeting, Netanyahu told Israeli ministers that any draft treaty would be put to a referendum.
Netanyahu remarks came after US Secretary of State John Kerry said on Friday that the Palestinian Authority (PA) and Israel have agreed to meet and prepare for the resumption of talks.
Netanyahu said he hoped the talks would be held "in a responsible, practical and serious manner."
Kerry has visited the Middle East six times in an effort to resume talks, which have been stalled since September 2010 due to the illegal expansion of Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories.
Although the PA has called for a halt to the construction of illegal settlements, Israeli ministers have voiced opposition to a freeze on settlement expansion.
"It's inappropriate for the Jewish people, for the land of Israel and for a sovereign state," Housing Minister Uri Ariel said. "We are in favor of building as much as possible."
On July 19, spokesman for the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas, Sami Abu Zuhri, rejected the proposal made by Kerry for the resumption of talks between the two sides.
The presence and continued expansion of Israeli settlements in occupied Palestine has created a major obstacle for the efforts to establish peace in the Middle East.
More than half a million Israelis live in over 120 illegal settlements built since Israel’s occupation of the Palestinian territories of the West Bank and East al-Quds more than four decades ago.
The Palestinians are seeking to create an independent state on the territories of the West Bank, East al-Quds (Jerusalem), and the Gaza Strip and are demanding that Israel withdraw from the Palestinian territories occupied in the Six-Day War of 1967.
Tel Aviv, however, has refused to return to the 1967 borders and is unwilling to discuss the issue of al-Quds.
The United Nations and most countries regard the Israeli settlements as illegal because the territories were captured by Israel in a war and are hence subject to the Geneva Conventions, which forbids construction on occupied lands.
Israeli PM says any peace deal will be put to referendum
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned ministers Sunday that renewed peace talks with the Palestinian Authority will be tough, and said any draft treaty would be put to a referendum.
US Secretary of State John Kerry on Friday said Israeli and Palestinian negotiators had agreed to meet to prepare a resumption of direct peace talks, stalled since 2010.
"Negotiations won't be easy but we're entering them honestly, sincerely," Netanyahu told ministers at the weekly cabinet meeting, the first since Kerry's announcement.
The premier repeated pledges that if the talks produced a draft treaty he would put it to a referendum.
He also said he hoped the negotiations would be held "in a responsible, practical and serious manner".
Netanyahu spoke after two hardline ministers in his right-wing government came out strongly against any possible slowdown in Jewish settlement building as part of the deal.
"We must not have a freeze," Transport Minister Israel Katz, a member of Netanyahu's own Likud party, told public radio.
"It would be immoral, un-Jewish and inhuman to freeze the lives of people and their children."
Israeli media have said that while there will be no formal declaration of a settlement freeze, a key Palestinian demand for talks to resume, Netanyahu will quietly halt building for the time being.
"The official policy is what counts," Katz added. "I am against a freeze and I don't believe that such a thing will happen. Settlement is strong and growing."
The last round of direct talks between the two sides nearly three years ago broke down over the issue of Israeli settlement building in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
Housing Minister Uri Ariel of the far-right Jewish Home party told public radio on Sunday that he did not want to consider even a limited freeze.
"It's inappropriate for the Jewish people, for the land of Israel and for a sovereign state," he said. "We are in favor of building as much as possible."
Kerry on Friday gave away very little about the agreement, which came after four days of frenetic consultations with Israeli and Palestinian leaders on his sixth mission to the region in as many months.
But president Mahmoud Abbas has repeatedly stressed that his demands for a freeze to Israeli settlement building on occupied land and release of prisoners held by Israel must be met before talks can resume.
Intelligence Minister Yuval Steinitz on Saturday announced there would be the release a "limited" number of Palestinian prisoners as a "gesture" for the talks.
Katz on Sunday took issue with this.
"I personally oppose the release of terrorist murderers. If the matter arises in future in the cabinet I shall vote against it," he said.
Israeli President Shimon Peres's office said on Sunday he called Abbas late on Saturday, welcoming the Palestinian leader's decision to renew talks.
"You took a brave and historic decision to return to the negotiating table," Peres was quoted as telling Abbas. "Don't listen to the skeptics, you did the right thing."
Hardline ministers in Israel's right-wing government came out swinging on Sunday against any possible slowdown in Jewish settlement building as part of a deal to kickstart peace talks.
Their comments come after US Secretary of State John Kerry on Friday said Israeli and Palestinian negotiators had agreed to meet to pave the way for a resumption of direct peace talks, stalled for close to three years.
Israeli media have said that while there will be no formal declaration of a settlement freeze, a key demand of the Palestinians for talks to resume, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will quietly halt building for the time being.
"We must not have a freeze," Transport Minister Israel Katz, of Netanyahu's own Likud party told public radio. "It would be immoral, un-Jewish and inhuman to freeze the lives of people and their children.
"The official policy is what counts," Katz added. "I am against a freeze and I don't believe that such a thing will happen. Settlement is strong and growing."
The last round of direct talks between the two sides broke down in 2010 over the issue of Israeli settlement building in the West Bank and east Jerusalem.
Housing Minister Uri Ariel of the far-right Jewish Home party, told the radio that he did not want to consider even a limited freeze.
"It's inappropriate for the Jewish people, for the land of Israel and for a sovereign state," he said. "We are in favor of building as much as possible."
Naftali Bennett, chairman of the Jewish Home party, said Saturday that settlements should continue in Jerusalem and the West Bank, saying "history has taught us that building brings life, while the evacuation of communities brings terror," Ynet reported.
Kerry gave away very little detail of the agreement, which came after four days of frenetic consultations with Israeli and Palestinian leaders.
But Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas has repeatedly stressed that his demands of a freeze to Israeli settlement building on occupied land and release of prisoners held by Israel must be met before talks can resume.
Intelligence Minister Yuval Steinitz on Saturday announced that there would be the release a "limited" number of Palestinian prisoners as a "gesture" for the peace talks.
Katz on Sunday took issue with his comments.
"I personally oppose the release of terrorist murderers," he said. "If the matter arises in future in the cabinet I shall vote against it."
Their comments come after US Secretary of State John Kerry on Friday said Israeli and Palestinian negotiators had agreed to meet to pave the way for a resumption of direct peace talks, stalled for close to three years.
Israeli media have said that while there will be no formal declaration of a settlement freeze, a key demand of the Palestinians for talks to resume, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will quietly halt building for the time being.
"We must not have a freeze," Transport Minister Israel Katz, of Netanyahu's own Likud party told public radio. "It would be immoral, un-Jewish and inhuman to freeze the lives of people and their children.
"The official policy is what counts," Katz added. "I am against a freeze and I don't believe that such a thing will happen. Settlement is strong and growing."
The last round of direct talks between the two sides broke down in 2010 over the issue of Israeli settlement building in the West Bank and east Jerusalem.
Housing Minister Uri Ariel of the far-right Jewish Home party, told the radio that he did not want to consider even a limited freeze.
"It's inappropriate for the Jewish people, for the land of Israel and for a sovereign state," he said. "We are in favor of building as much as possible."
Naftali Bennett, chairman of the Jewish Home party, said Saturday that settlements should continue in Jerusalem and the West Bank, saying "history has taught us that building brings life, while the evacuation of communities brings terror," Ynet reported.
Kerry gave away very little detail of the agreement, which came after four days of frenetic consultations with Israeli and Palestinian leaders.
But Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas has repeatedly stressed that his demands of a freeze to Israeli settlement building on occupied land and release of prisoners held by Israel must be met before talks can resume.
Intelligence Minister Yuval Steinitz on Saturday announced that there would be the release a "limited" number of Palestinian prisoners as a "gesture" for the peace talks.
Katz on Sunday took issue with his comments.
"I personally oppose the release of terrorist murderers," he said. "If the matter arises in future in the cabinet I shall vote against it."
Senior official of the popular front for the liberation of Palestine (PFLP) Rabah Muhanna called on the Palestinian central council to convene urgently to hold president Mahmoud Abbas accountable for violating the conditions it had set for the resumption of the peace talks. In a televised statement, Muhanna urged the Palestinian people in the occupied lands and the Gaza Strip to take to the streets to protest the "peace negotiations" with the Israeli occupation.
He called for exerting great pressures on Abbas as much as the pressures that had been made on him by the US administration and some Arab countries.
The PLFP official warned that the resumption of these negotiations would lead to the further concessions on the Palestinian constants and rights, especially the rights of return.
In a related context, political analysts Hosam Addajni and Ibrahim Al-Madhoun said that Abbas's decision to return to the negotiation table was taken unilaterally and would be detrimental to the Palestinian constants.
The two analysts stated that US secretary of state Johan Kerry succeeded in pressuring Abbas into engaging in peace talks with Israel in Washington.
Devil in details for Mideast peace talks
US Secretary of State John Kerry's efforts have led to an agreement in principle to resume Israeli-Palestinian peace talks but the devil remains in the details of the negotiating terms.
"I am pleased to announce that we have reached an agreement that establishes a basis for resuming direct final status negotiations between the Palestinians and the Israelis," he told reporters in Amman late Friday.
The two sides are to meet in Washington within "the next week or so" to nail down the terms for peace talks.
"After he moved mountains to renew talks, Kerry has now reached the truly tough part," said the diplomatic correspondent of Israel's Haaretz newspaper.
"The lack of trust between the sides is still strong and the gap between (Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu and (Palestinian leader Mahmoud) Abbas is still cavernous. Kerry will attempt to construct a bridge over the abyss but let's hope he does not plunge down into oblivion."
The Palestinian presidency said it looked forward to "an agreement on the basis of a resumption of talks," while stressing there were still "specific details that need to be resolved".
However, Palestinian factions, embittered by the experience of the 1993 Oslo peace accords, were openly critical.
Independent MP Mustafa Barghuti rejected any return to the negotiating table without a clear reference to the borders which existed before the 1967 Middle East war and a halt to all settlement building
He said any such talks would be a waste of time and nothing more than a time-wasting exercise serving Netanyahu's government.
"The experience of 20 years of negotiations has been enough to prove it was a mistake to sign the Oslo accords before a halt to settlement building. The number of settlers on occupied (Palestinian) land has since shot up from 150,000 to 600,000 now," his movement said.
It warned against "falling into the trap of Oslo".
The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, a leftist faction within the PLO umbrella, said a return to peace talks outside the framework of the United Nations and its resolutions on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict would amount to "political suicide".
It urged the Palestinian leadership to resume its campaign to join international organizations, suspended at the request of Washington, especially judicial bodies which could put pressure on Israel "instead of submitting Palestinian rights that are guaranteed under international law to compromises and useless bets which have failed time and again".
Palestinian political analyst Hani al-Masri was blunt in his assessment.
"Kerry's attempts are destined to fail because Israel does not want to commit to references in any negotiating process, so it does not commit to anything," he told AFP.
"Accepting a return to negotiations today for the Palestinian leadership would be tantamount to political suicide and will not change the circumstances for which it has refused to do so previously."
According to Haaretz, "Netanyahu agreed to a series of gestures toward the Palestinians in the coming months, including the release of hundreds of prisoners. Over the past four months he has likewise restrained, relatively speaking, West Bank settlement construction, a slowdown which will hold as long as negotiations are on."
But "a big question mark remains around Netanyahu's intentions", the paper said.
"Is he interested only in a peace process or is he determined to reach a peace accord? If it is only a process he is after, he will have earned himself several months of quiet until the bluff is called.
"But if he is in it for the real thing, he will have to for the first time present clear stances and explain where for him Israel ends and Palestine begins."
A Palestinian official said: "The ball is now in Israel's court. Kerry has proposed the bases for a resumption of negotiations and asked Netanyahu to respond favorably to one of them.
"The bases are the release of Palestinians jailed before the Oslo accords, minors, the sick or the elderly," he said on condition of anonymity.
"And that Israel recognize the 1967 (border) lines as a reference point, or a halt to settlement building."
The Palestinian official said the Israeli premier had agreed to hold a special cabinet session to draw up Israel's response to Kerry's proposals.
"If Israel accepts them, negotiations will resume."
Qassem slams PA's decision to return to negotiations
Professor of Political Science Abdul Sattar Qassem condemned the decision of the Palestinian Authority to return to negotiations and considered it treason. Qassem told the Jordanian Sabil newspaper that the Authority's only concern is to get aid and money, and revealed that "the negotiations have never stopped, as meetings have continued in secret in Amman and Jerusalem."
He also considered the resumption of negotiations a deal to sell Palestine, demanding the Palestinian people to dismiss these "traitorous negotiators"
For his part, member of the central committee of Fatah Abbas Zaki stated that pressures were exerted by the Arabs on the Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas to push him to accept negotiating with Israel.
He said in an interview with Sabil newspaper that America sees the region with Israeli eyes. It is not interested in freezing the settlement activity or in a Palestinian state on the borders of 67.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry announced that the authority has agreed to return to direct negotiations next week in Washington.
Dr. Ahmed Bahar, First Deputy Head of the Legislative Council, said in a statement that Ramallah authority's decision to return to negotiations according to the Israeli conditions is a political suicide, and direct liquidation of Palestinian rights and national constants.
He stressed that the authority's decision to resume negotiations with the occupation represents a complete acquiescence to the American attitude completely aligned with the Israeli position, and a disavowal of all the conditions set by the Palestinian Authority throughout the last stage for the resumption of negotiations.
Bahar noted that the resumption of negotiations would constitute a legitimate cover for the development of Judaization and settlement schemes in all the occupied Palestinian territories.
For his part; Hassan Khreisha, Second Deputy Speaker of the Palestinian Legislative Council, also considered the resumption of negotiations "a political suicide", and revealed that the Authority leadership in Ramallah have accepted Israeli bribes to return to negotiations.
Concerning the Palestinian reconciliation file; Khreisha said that it "has become a part of the history and the past ... Who wants reconciliation does not return to negotiations and does not support the Egyptian media that incite against Hamas and the Gaza Strip and attack the Palestinians."
Islamist, leftist factions rally against negotiations
Palestinian Islamist and leftist factions on Sunday said returning to negotiations with Israel was a mistake.
The Islamic Jihad movement said returning to talks is like "cloning the failure" of previous negotiations, which proved to be mistake, a statement said.
Jihad spokesman Shihab Dawod told Ma'an that the Palestinian Authority has made mistakes in the past that the Palestinian people are still suffering from today.
"There is national Palestinian consensus to refuse negotiations, but the PA responds to American pressures and blackmail," he added.
"Returning back to negotiations under these circumstances is like political suicide because the international and the regional situation does not provide any true support to the Palestinian people or to the Palestinian cause. The Arab countries are busy with internal issues."
Jamil Mizher, a member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, told Ma'an that Palestinian factions must move forward towards political reconciliation and implement a national strategy to face future challenges.
Negotiations with Israel based on US conditions would be like "suicide" for the Palestinians and would allow Israel to continue settlement building, he added.
Walid Awad, a member of the Palestinian People's Party, said President Abbas had made a mistake by agreeing to return to negotiations with the occupying power without Palestinian conditions in place.
The talks will not be based on 1967 borders and Israeli settlement building will continue while negotiations take place, Awad said.
There is a decline in American power in the region, especially after the US failure to influence political outcomes in Egypt, Syria, Tunisia, and other countries, the leftist official said, stressing that the Palestinian leadership made a mistake in returning to talks.
A senior Hamas official said Saturday that the PA's return to negotiations was a "disaster" and a cover for the Israeli agenda of Judaization, settlement building and the displacement of Palestinians.
"Stopping political reconciliation for negotiations between the PA and Israel is very dangerous," Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum told Ma'an.
US Secretary of State John Kerry told reporters in Amman late on Friday that Israeli and Palestinian negotiators had laid the groundwork to resume the frozen peace talks.
PLO negotiator Saeb Erakat and his Israeli counterpart Tzipi Livni would meet him in Washington "to begin initial talks within the next week or so."
Israelis and Palestinians remain far apart on final status issues including the borders of a future Palestinian state, the right of return of Palestinian refugees, and the fate of Jerusalem which both want as their capital.
Bardawil warns PA against falling in quagmire of negotiations
Dr. Salah al-Bardawil, a Hamas leader, said that re-launching Palestinian-Israeli negotiations would lead to liquidating the Palestine cause. Bardawil told the PIC on Saturday that resuming negotiations without pre-conditions according to US secretary of state John Kerry’s proposals would lead to liquidating the Palestine cause in return for personal gains for PA leaders in Ramallah.
He asked Fatah faction and Ramallah authority not to fall in the quagmire of negotiations.
Meanwhile, Yuval Steinitz, the Israeli minister of international affairs, strategy and intelligence, revealed that Palestinian conditions for a return to negotiations were not met. He said that there would be no settlement freeze and no negotiations based on 1967 borders.
He said in a statement to the Hebrew radio on Saturday that Israel would only release a number of Palestinian prisoners who had served long periods in Israeli jails.
The minister said that the PA committed to nine months of serious talks during which the PA would not table any complaint against Israel at the international forums.
Resheq: The peace talks will lead to more loss of the Palestinian rights
Member of Hamas’s political bureau Ezzat Al-Resheq reiterated his Movement's rejection of the Palestinian Authority's decision to restart new rounds of useless negotiations with the Israeli occupation. In a press release on Sunday, Resheq said that the peace talks with Israel had already proved its failure to achieve the Palestinian people’s aspirations, warning that these negotiations would lead to further settlement and Judaization activities and further loss of the Palestinian rights.
The Hamas official also underscored that the Palestinian people would not be bound by the results of these talks because they would be held with no national consensus, and against the will of the Palestinian people.
He called on the PA and Fatah to reconsider their decision in this regard and stop selling illusions to the Palestinian people.
For her part, Hamas lawmaker Samir Halaiqa said, in a press statement to Quds Press, that the Palestinian authority did not leave the negotiation table in the first place in order to return to it.
Halaiqa affirmed that the covert and overt meetings between PA officials and their Israeli counterparts never ceased.
She underlined that the sponsors of the peace process aim to extract more concessions from the PA taking advantage of the internal chaos in the Arab region and the absence of the Egyptian role.
He called for exerting great pressures on Abbas as much as the pressures that had been made on him by the US administration and some Arab countries.
The PLFP official warned that the resumption of these negotiations would lead to the further concessions on the Palestinian constants and rights, especially the rights of return.
In a related context, political analysts Hosam Addajni and Ibrahim Al-Madhoun said that Abbas's decision to return to the negotiation table was taken unilaterally and would be detrimental to the Palestinian constants.
The two analysts stated that US secretary of state Johan Kerry succeeded in pressuring Abbas into engaging in peace talks with Israel in Washington.
Devil in details for Mideast peace talks
US Secretary of State John Kerry's efforts have led to an agreement in principle to resume Israeli-Palestinian peace talks but the devil remains in the details of the negotiating terms.
"I am pleased to announce that we have reached an agreement that establishes a basis for resuming direct final status negotiations between the Palestinians and the Israelis," he told reporters in Amman late Friday.
The two sides are to meet in Washington within "the next week or so" to nail down the terms for peace talks.
"After he moved mountains to renew talks, Kerry has now reached the truly tough part," said the diplomatic correspondent of Israel's Haaretz newspaper.
"The lack of trust between the sides is still strong and the gap between (Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu and (Palestinian leader Mahmoud) Abbas is still cavernous. Kerry will attempt to construct a bridge over the abyss but let's hope he does not plunge down into oblivion."
The Palestinian presidency said it looked forward to "an agreement on the basis of a resumption of talks," while stressing there were still "specific details that need to be resolved".
However, Palestinian factions, embittered by the experience of the 1993 Oslo peace accords, were openly critical.
Independent MP Mustafa Barghuti rejected any return to the negotiating table without a clear reference to the borders which existed before the 1967 Middle East war and a halt to all settlement building
He said any such talks would be a waste of time and nothing more than a time-wasting exercise serving Netanyahu's government.
"The experience of 20 years of negotiations has been enough to prove it was a mistake to sign the Oslo accords before a halt to settlement building. The number of settlers on occupied (Palestinian) land has since shot up from 150,000 to 600,000 now," his movement said.
It warned against "falling into the trap of Oslo".
The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, a leftist faction within the PLO umbrella, said a return to peace talks outside the framework of the United Nations and its resolutions on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict would amount to "political suicide".
It urged the Palestinian leadership to resume its campaign to join international organizations, suspended at the request of Washington, especially judicial bodies which could put pressure on Israel "instead of submitting Palestinian rights that are guaranteed under international law to compromises and useless bets which have failed time and again".
Palestinian political analyst Hani al-Masri was blunt in his assessment.
"Kerry's attempts are destined to fail because Israel does not want to commit to references in any negotiating process, so it does not commit to anything," he told AFP.
"Accepting a return to negotiations today for the Palestinian leadership would be tantamount to political suicide and will not change the circumstances for which it has refused to do so previously."
According to Haaretz, "Netanyahu agreed to a series of gestures toward the Palestinians in the coming months, including the release of hundreds of prisoners. Over the past four months he has likewise restrained, relatively speaking, West Bank settlement construction, a slowdown which will hold as long as negotiations are on."
But "a big question mark remains around Netanyahu's intentions", the paper said.
"Is he interested only in a peace process or is he determined to reach a peace accord? If it is only a process he is after, he will have earned himself several months of quiet until the bluff is called.
"But if he is in it for the real thing, he will have to for the first time present clear stances and explain where for him Israel ends and Palestine begins."
A Palestinian official said: "The ball is now in Israel's court. Kerry has proposed the bases for a resumption of negotiations and asked Netanyahu to respond favorably to one of them.
"The bases are the release of Palestinians jailed before the Oslo accords, minors, the sick or the elderly," he said on condition of anonymity.
"And that Israel recognize the 1967 (border) lines as a reference point, or a halt to settlement building."
The Palestinian official said the Israeli premier had agreed to hold a special cabinet session to draw up Israel's response to Kerry's proposals.
"If Israel accepts them, negotiations will resume."
Qassem slams PA's decision to return to negotiations
Professor of Political Science Abdul Sattar Qassem condemned the decision of the Palestinian Authority to return to negotiations and considered it treason. Qassem told the Jordanian Sabil newspaper that the Authority's only concern is to get aid and money, and revealed that "the negotiations have never stopped, as meetings have continued in secret in Amman and Jerusalem."
He also considered the resumption of negotiations a deal to sell Palestine, demanding the Palestinian people to dismiss these "traitorous negotiators"
For his part, member of the central committee of Fatah Abbas Zaki stated that pressures were exerted by the Arabs on the Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas to push him to accept negotiating with Israel.
He said in an interview with Sabil newspaper that America sees the region with Israeli eyes. It is not interested in freezing the settlement activity or in a Palestinian state on the borders of 67.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry announced that the authority has agreed to return to direct negotiations next week in Washington.
Dr. Ahmed Bahar, First Deputy Head of the Legislative Council, said in a statement that Ramallah authority's decision to return to negotiations according to the Israeli conditions is a political suicide, and direct liquidation of Palestinian rights and national constants.
He stressed that the authority's decision to resume negotiations with the occupation represents a complete acquiescence to the American attitude completely aligned with the Israeli position, and a disavowal of all the conditions set by the Palestinian Authority throughout the last stage for the resumption of negotiations.
Bahar noted that the resumption of negotiations would constitute a legitimate cover for the development of Judaization and settlement schemes in all the occupied Palestinian territories.
For his part; Hassan Khreisha, Second Deputy Speaker of the Palestinian Legislative Council, also considered the resumption of negotiations "a political suicide", and revealed that the Authority leadership in Ramallah have accepted Israeli bribes to return to negotiations.
Concerning the Palestinian reconciliation file; Khreisha said that it "has become a part of the history and the past ... Who wants reconciliation does not return to negotiations and does not support the Egyptian media that incite against Hamas and the Gaza Strip and attack the Palestinians."
Islamist, leftist factions rally against negotiations
Palestinian Islamist and leftist factions on Sunday said returning to negotiations with Israel was a mistake.
The Islamic Jihad movement said returning to talks is like "cloning the failure" of previous negotiations, which proved to be mistake, a statement said.
Jihad spokesman Shihab Dawod told Ma'an that the Palestinian Authority has made mistakes in the past that the Palestinian people are still suffering from today.
"There is national Palestinian consensus to refuse negotiations, but the PA responds to American pressures and blackmail," he added.
"Returning back to negotiations under these circumstances is like political suicide because the international and the regional situation does not provide any true support to the Palestinian people or to the Palestinian cause. The Arab countries are busy with internal issues."
Jamil Mizher, a member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, told Ma'an that Palestinian factions must move forward towards political reconciliation and implement a national strategy to face future challenges.
Negotiations with Israel based on US conditions would be like "suicide" for the Palestinians and would allow Israel to continue settlement building, he added.
Walid Awad, a member of the Palestinian People's Party, said President Abbas had made a mistake by agreeing to return to negotiations with the occupying power without Palestinian conditions in place.
The talks will not be based on 1967 borders and Israeli settlement building will continue while negotiations take place, Awad said.
There is a decline in American power in the region, especially after the US failure to influence political outcomes in Egypt, Syria, Tunisia, and other countries, the leftist official said, stressing that the Palestinian leadership made a mistake in returning to talks.
A senior Hamas official said Saturday that the PA's return to negotiations was a "disaster" and a cover for the Israeli agenda of Judaization, settlement building and the displacement of Palestinians.
"Stopping political reconciliation for negotiations between the PA and Israel is very dangerous," Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum told Ma'an.
US Secretary of State John Kerry told reporters in Amman late on Friday that Israeli and Palestinian negotiators had laid the groundwork to resume the frozen peace talks.
PLO negotiator Saeb Erakat and his Israeli counterpart Tzipi Livni would meet him in Washington "to begin initial talks within the next week or so."
Israelis and Palestinians remain far apart on final status issues including the borders of a future Palestinian state, the right of return of Palestinian refugees, and the fate of Jerusalem which both want as their capital.
Bardawil warns PA against falling in quagmire of negotiations
Dr. Salah al-Bardawil, a Hamas leader, said that re-launching Palestinian-Israeli negotiations would lead to liquidating the Palestine cause. Bardawil told the PIC on Saturday that resuming negotiations without pre-conditions according to US secretary of state John Kerry’s proposals would lead to liquidating the Palestine cause in return for personal gains for PA leaders in Ramallah.
He asked Fatah faction and Ramallah authority not to fall in the quagmire of negotiations.
Meanwhile, Yuval Steinitz, the Israeli minister of international affairs, strategy and intelligence, revealed that Palestinian conditions for a return to negotiations were not met. He said that there would be no settlement freeze and no negotiations based on 1967 borders.
He said in a statement to the Hebrew radio on Saturday that Israel would only release a number of Palestinian prisoners who had served long periods in Israeli jails.
The minister said that the PA committed to nine months of serious talks during which the PA would not table any complaint against Israel at the international forums.
Resheq: The peace talks will lead to more loss of the Palestinian rights
Member of Hamas’s political bureau Ezzat Al-Resheq reiterated his Movement's rejection of the Palestinian Authority's decision to restart new rounds of useless negotiations with the Israeli occupation. In a press release on Sunday, Resheq said that the peace talks with Israel had already proved its failure to achieve the Palestinian people’s aspirations, warning that these negotiations would lead to further settlement and Judaization activities and further loss of the Palestinian rights.
The Hamas official also underscored that the Palestinian people would not be bound by the results of these talks because they would be held with no national consensus, and against the will of the Palestinian people.
He called on the PA and Fatah to reconsider their decision in this regard and stop selling illusions to the Palestinian people.
For her part, Hamas lawmaker Samir Halaiqa said, in a press statement to Quds Press, that the Palestinian authority did not leave the negotiation table in the first place in order to return to it.
Halaiqa affirmed that the covert and overt meetings between PA officials and their Israeli counterparts never ceased.
She underlined that the sponsors of the peace process aim to extract more concessions from the PA taking advantage of the internal chaos in the Arab region and the absence of the Egyptian role.
20 july 2013
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, Hua Chunying
China has welcomed efforts to kick-start the long-stalled negotiations between Israel and Palestinian leaders.
Speaking at a press conference in Beijing on Saturday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, Hua Chunying, said China expects Palestinians and Israel "to overcome difficulties and strive to reach concrete results at an early date."
Hua added that the Chinese government has made endeavors to persuade both Palestinians and Israelis to resume peace talks when receiving Palestinian and Israeli leaders during their China tours earlier this year.
She added that China even hosted an international meeting in June aimed at reviving the stalled peace negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority.
"Chinese President Xi Jinping has made four-point proposal to resolve the Palestinian issue," Hua stated.
On Friday, US Secretary of State John Kerry said if everything goes as expected, Israel-Palestine negotiations will resume soon.
“We have reached an agreement that establishes the basis for resuming direct final status negotiations between the Palestinians and the Israelis,” he said, adding, “This is a significant and welcome step forward.”
“The agreement is still in the process of being formalized,” Kerry noted, but gave no details on what had been agreed so far.
The Palestinian-Israeli talks were halted in September 2010 over disagreements on Israeli settlement construction in the occupied West Bank.
The Palestinians are seeking to create an independent state on the territories of the West Bank, East al-Quds (Jerusalem), and the Gaza Strip and are demanding that Israel withdraw from the Palestinian territories occupied in the Six-Day War of 1967.
Tel Aviv, however, has refused to return to the 1967 borders and is unwilling to discuss the issue of al-Quds.
China has welcomed efforts to kick-start the long-stalled negotiations between Israel and Palestinian leaders.
Speaking at a press conference in Beijing on Saturday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, Hua Chunying, said China expects Palestinians and Israel "to overcome difficulties and strive to reach concrete results at an early date."
Hua added that the Chinese government has made endeavors to persuade both Palestinians and Israelis to resume peace talks when receiving Palestinian and Israeli leaders during their China tours earlier this year.
She added that China even hosted an international meeting in June aimed at reviving the stalled peace negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority.
"Chinese President Xi Jinping has made four-point proposal to resolve the Palestinian issue," Hua stated.
On Friday, US Secretary of State John Kerry said if everything goes as expected, Israel-Palestine negotiations will resume soon.
“We have reached an agreement that establishes the basis for resuming direct final status negotiations between the Palestinians and the Israelis,” he said, adding, “This is a significant and welcome step forward.”
“The agreement is still in the process of being formalized,” Kerry noted, but gave no details on what had been agreed so far.
The Palestinian-Israeli talks were halted in September 2010 over disagreements on Israeli settlement construction in the occupied West Bank.
The Palestinians are seeking to create an independent state on the territories of the West Bank, East al-Quds (Jerusalem), and the Gaza Strip and are demanding that Israel withdraw from the Palestinian territories occupied in the Six-Day War of 1967.
Tel Aviv, however, has refused to return to the 1967 borders and is unwilling to discuss the issue of al-Quds.
Israel has been protesting all week, but to no avail. On Friday, the EU issued new guidelines prohibiting bloc money from going to Israeli institutions operating in the settlements. President Peres warned the measure could "cause a crisis."
Israel is furious. New European Union guidelines preventing bloc funds from being distributed to Israeli institutions operating in settlements outside the country's 1967 borders have triggered protest from the highest levels. Both Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Shimon Peres have criticized the ban and asked Brussels to reconsider.
ANZEIGE On Friday, the day on which the EU officially published the new guidelines, [PDF] it seemed as though the German Foreign Ministry may have been listening. Speaking with mass-circulation daily Bild, a spokeswoman from the ministry said that the European Commission "developed the guidelines on their own prerogative." That, of course, is only partially true. EU foreign ministers approved the guidelines unanimously. But it may indicate that the vociferous protests from Israel, including several calls from Netanyahu to European leaders, are having an effect. While Netanyahu's office has refused to divulge the contents of those calls, Israeli media have reported that he asked his European counterparts to delay the implementation of the guidelines, which are currently scheduled to go into effect at the beginning of 2014.
EU Isn't Budging
The complaints, though, have fallen on deaf ears in Brussels. On Friday, EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton released a statement saying the guidelines "reiterate the long-held position that bilateral agreements with Israel do not cover the territory that came under Israel's administration in June 1967." It also states: "It has been the EU's long-held position that it will recognize changes made to the borders once agreed by both parties."
In other words, the EU isn't budging.
The guidelines themselves are not likely to result in massive changes to the EU's presence in Israel. They merely stipulate that institutions based in Israeli settlements in the West Bank, Golan Heights and East Jerusalem are not eligible to receive grants, prizes or other financial instruments funded by the common European Union budget as of Jan. 1, 2014. The document published on Friday clearly states that "the EU does not recognize Israel's sovereignty over any of the (occupied) territories."
The spat between the EU and Israel comes as the US is making a major push to encourage the Israelis and the Palestinians to resume peace negotiations. US Secretary of State John Kerry was in the Middle East on Thursday in an attempt to facilitate talks, and he was backed by a strong statement from the White House urging Netanyahu to work with Kerry "to resume negotiations with Palestinians as soon as possible."
With the Palestinians demanding preconditions that are unpalatable to the Israelis, it seems unlikely that negotiations will begin anytime soon. But Israeli President Peres suggested that the EU ban could also have a negative effect on the push. On Thursday, he said that the EU should "give priority to peace" and added that the regulations "could cause another crisis."
'Homeland'
Despite the doomsday tone, however, Peres' comments were a far cry from the sharp words chosen by members of the Netanyahu government earlier in the week. "This is a decision marked with racism and discrimination against the Jewish people that is reminiscent of boycotts against the Jews from over 66 years ago," said Construction and Housing Minister Uri Ariel, according to a report earlier this week in the Jerusalem Post. A deputy minister and close ally of Netanyahu's, Ofir Akunis, said that "steps like this, before the Palestinians even said they are ready to return to negotiations, push talks away and do not bring them closer." He added, referring to the West Bank, that "Judea and Samaria are not occupied, they are the cradle of the homeland of the Jewish people."
According to an Israeli government official, Israel called in ambassadors from Britain, France and Germany on Friday to discuss the EU guidelines and to warn that they could trigger a serious crisis between the EU and Israel. "We have asked the ambassadors to inform their capitals that no Israeli government can accept the aforementioned guidelines," an unnamed Israeli diplomat told the news agency AFP on Friday. Still, the frustration in Israel was not unanimous this week. Several center-left parliamentarians said the EU move was a wakeup call for the Netanyahu government to move forward with peace negotiations. "Prime Minister Netanyahu must immediately start negotiations with the Palestinian Authority and work toward a final agreement," Shelly Yacimovich, a leading parliamentarian with the Labor party, said according to the Jerusalem Post.
EU foreign policy chief Ashton was eager on Friday to emphasize that Europe remains dedicated to peace talks in the Middle East. "The EU is deeply committed to Israeli-Palestinian negotiations and fully supports Secretary Kerry's intense efforts to restart negotiations at a particularly delicate stage," she said in her statement. "In this way, the EU hopes to further contribute to an atmosphere conducive to a meaningful and sustainable negotiation leading to a peace agreement between the parties."
EU Publishes Guidelines Banning Funding for Israeli Settlements
In spite of strong Israeli objections, the European Union Friday went ahead and published guidelines that ban EU funding of projects and individuals in the illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian Territory. EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said in a statement meant to clarify the EU position in advance of negotiations of agreements with Israel during the forthcoming financial perspective commencing in 2014 that the guidelines reiterate “the long-held position that bilateral agreements with Israel do not cover the territory that came under Israel's administration in June 1967.”
She rejected Israeli claims that publishing the guidelines would undermine peace efforts spearheaded by the United States and stressed that “in no way will this prejudge the outcome of peace negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians.”
Ashton said that “the EU is deeply committed to Israeli-Palestinian negotiations and fully supports (US) Secretary (of State John) Kerry's intense efforts to restart negotiations at a particularly delicate stage. In this way, the EU hopes to further contribute to an atmosphere conducive to a meaningful and sustainable negotiation leading to a peace agreement between the parties.”
The specific provisions of the guidelines will not be implemented before 1 January 2014.
EU, Quartet Welcome Kerry’s Announcement on Peace Process
The European Union and the Office of the Quartet Representative for Middle East peace in Jerusalem Friday welcomed in two separate statements the declaration by US Secretary of State John Kerry for resumption of Palestinian-Israeli negotiations. EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said in a statement from Brussels that she “warmly welcome today's announcement on the Middle East peace process.”
She said that President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “have demonstrated courage in reaching this point,” adding that “their demonstration of leadership gives me great hope that we may finally see progress towards the objectives which they share along with their friends and allies around the world: peace, security and dignity for their peoples.”
Ashton recognized however that “of course there are difficult negotiations ahead and difficult decisions to take,” but stressed that “the European Union will make every effort to ensure that negotiations succeed.”
A spokesman at the Office of the Quartet Representative Toni Blair also welcomed Kerry’s announcement of the resumption of peace negotiations.
“It is a huge achievement by Secretary Kerry and his team. We welcome the announcement of the resumption of talks. We look forward to working with all the parties to ensure the full potential of two viable states is realized,” said the spokesman.
Israel is furious. New European Union guidelines preventing bloc funds from being distributed to Israeli institutions operating in settlements outside the country's 1967 borders have triggered protest from the highest levels. Both Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Shimon Peres have criticized the ban and asked Brussels to reconsider.
ANZEIGE On Friday, the day on which the EU officially published the new guidelines, [PDF] it seemed as though the German Foreign Ministry may have been listening. Speaking with mass-circulation daily Bild, a spokeswoman from the ministry said that the European Commission "developed the guidelines on their own prerogative." That, of course, is only partially true. EU foreign ministers approved the guidelines unanimously. But it may indicate that the vociferous protests from Israel, including several calls from Netanyahu to European leaders, are having an effect. While Netanyahu's office has refused to divulge the contents of those calls, Israeli media have reported that he asked his European counterparts to delay the implementation of the guidelines, which are currently scheduled to go into effect at the beginning of 2014.
EU Isn't Budging
The complaints, though, have fallen on deaf ears in Brussels. On Friday, EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton released a statement saying the guidelines "reiterate the long-held position that bilateral agreements with Israel do not cover the territory that came under Israel's administration in June 1967." It also states: "It has been the EU's long-held position that it will recognize changes made to the borders once agreed by both parties."
In other words, the EU isn't budging.
The guidelines themselves are not likely to result in massive changes to the EU's presence in Israel. They merely stipulate that institutions based in Israeli settlements in the West Bank, Golan Heights and East Jerusalem are not eligible to receive grants, prizes or other financial instruments funded by the common European Union budget as of Jan. 1, 2014. The document published on Friday clearly states that "the EU does not recognize Israel's sovereignty over any of the (occupied) territories."
The spat between the EU and Israel comes as the US is making a major push to encourage the Israelis and the Palestinians to resume peace negotiations. US Secretary of State John Kerry was in the Middle East on Thursday in an attempt to facilitate talks, and he was backed by a strong statement from the White House urging Netanyahu to work with Kerry "to resume negotiations with Palestinians as soon as possible."
With the Palestinians demanding preconditions that are unpalatable to the Israelis, it seems unlikely that negotiations will begin anytime soon. But Israeli President Peres suggested that the EU ban could also have a negative effect on the push. On Thursday, he said that the EU should "give priority to peace" and added that the regulations "could cause another crisis."
'Homeland'
Despite the doomsday tone, however, Peres' comments were a far cry from the sharp words chosen by members of the Netanyahu government earlier in the week. "This is a decision marked with racism and discrimination against the Jewish people that is reminiscent of boycotts against the Jews from over 66 years ago," said Construction and Housing Minister Uri Ariel, according to a report earlier this week in the Jerusalem Post. A deputy minister and close ally of Netanyahu's, Ofir Akunis, said that "steps like this, before the Palestinians even said they are ready to return to negotiations, push talks away and do not bring them closer." He added, referring to the West Bank, that "Judea and Samaria are not occupied, they are the cradle of the homeland of the Jewish people."
According to an Israeli government official, Israel called in ambassadors from Britain, France and Germany on Friday to discuss the EU guidelines and to warn that they could trigger a serious crisis between the EU and Israel. "We have asked the ambassadors to inform their capitals that no Israeli government can accept the aforementioned guidelines," an unnamed Israeli diplomat told the news agency AFP on Friday. Still, the frustration in Israel was not unanimous this week. Several center-left parliamentarians said the EU move was a wakeup call for the Netanyahu government to move forward with peace negotiations. "Prime Minister Netanyahu must immediately start negotiations with the Palestinian Authority and work toward a final agreement," Shelly Yacimovich, a leading parliamentarian with the Labor party, said according to the Jerusalem Post.
EU foreign policy chief Ashton was eager on Friday to emphasize that Europe remains dedicated to peace talks in the Middle East. "The EU is deeply committed to Israeli-Palestinian negotiations and fully supports Secretary Kerry's intense efforts to restart negotiations at a particularly delicate stage," she said in her statement. "In this way, the EU hopes to further contribute to an atmosphere conducive to a meaningful and sustainable negotiation leading to a peace agreement between the parties."
EU Publishes Guidelines Banning Funding for Israeli Settlements
In spite of strong Israeli objections, the European Union Friday went ahead and published guidelines that ban EU funding of projects and individuals in the illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian Territory. EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said in a statement meant to clarify the EU position in advance of negotiations of agreements with Israel during the forthcoming financial perspective commencing in 2014 that the guidelines reiterate “the long-held position that bilateral agreements with Israel do not cover the territory that came under Israel's administration in June 1967.”
She rejected Israeli claims that publishing the guidelines would undermine peace efforts spearheaded by the United States and stressed that “in no way will this prejudge the outcome of peace negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians.”
Ashton said that “the EU is deeply committed to Israeli-Palestinian negotiations and fully supports (US) Secretary (of State John) Kerry's intense efforts to restart negotiations at a particularly delicate stage. In this way, the EU hopes to further contribute to an atmosphere conducive to a meaningful and sustainable negotiation leading to a peace agreement between the parties.”
The specific provisions of the guidelines will not be implemented before 1 January 2014.
EU, Quartet Welcome Kerry’s Announcement on Peace Process
The European Union and the Office of the Quartet Representative for Middle East peace in Jerusalem Friday welcomed in two separate statements the declaration by US Secretary of State John Kerry for resumption of Palestinian-Israeli negotiations. EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said in a statement from Brussels that she “warmly welcome today's announcement on the Middle East peace process.”
She said that President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “have demonstrated courage in reaching this point,” adding that “their demonstration of leadership gives me great hope that we may finally see progress towards the objectives which they share along with their friends and allies around the world: peace, security and dignity for their peoples.”
Ashton recognized however that “of course there are difficult negotiations ahead and difficult decisions to take,” but stressed that “the European Union will make every effort to ensure that negotiations succeed.”
A spokesman at the Office of the Quartet Representative Toni Blair also welcomed Kerry’s announcement of the resumption of peace negotiations.
“It is a huge achievement by Secretary Kerry and his team. We welcome the announcement of the resumption of talks. We look forward to working with all the parties to ensure the full potential of two viable states is realized,” said the spokesman.
Israel on Saturday announced it will release some Palestinian prisoners as a "gesture", as the two sides agreed to meet to pave the way for their first direct talks in three years.
The announcement came hours after US Secretary of State John Kerry told reporters in Amman late on Friday that Israeli and Palestinian negotiators had laid the groundwork to resume the frozen peace talks.
Kerry said that as a first step Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erakat and his Israeli counterpart Tzipi Livni would meet him in Washington "to begin initial talks within the next week or so".
The last round of direct talks broke down in 2010 over the issue of Israeli settlements in the West Bank and east Jerusalem. The issue of continued expansion of illegal Jewish settlements remains one of the biggest stumbling blocks between the two sides.
On Saturday, Israeli Intelligence Minister Yuval Steinitz said his government would engage in the staged release of a "limited number" of prisoners, some of whom have been in Israeli jails for 30 years.
Steinitz provided no other details but said "there will definitely be a certain gesture here".
Kerry's announcement came after he spent four days consulting the Israeli and Palestinian leadership from his base in an Amman hotel and a late Friday helicopter dash to the Palestinian Authority in Ramallah.
Just minutes before boarding a plane to fly home, Kerry told reporters both sides had reached "an agreement that establishes a basis for resuming direct final status negotiations".
"This is a significant and welcome step forward," he added, having doggedly pushed the two sides to agree to resume talks in six intense trips to the region since becoming the top US diplomat in February.
But he warned that the issues separating the sides were "difficult" and "complicated".
A US State Department official said Kerry had wrenched a commitment from both sides "on the core elements that will allow direct talks to begin".
The Israelis and Palestinians remain far apart on final status issues including the borders of a future Palestinian state, the right of return of Palestinian refugees, and the fate of Jerusalem which both want as their capital.
Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas has also repeatedly called for a freeze to Israeli settlement building and a release of prisoners.
Analysts cautioned against reading too much into the latest developments.
Chico Menashe, diplomatic commentator for Israeli public radio, likened the situation to "a half-baked cake Kerry removed from the stove. Kerry convinced the Israelis and Palestinians it was edible, and both sides agreed to eat it."
Gal Berger, Palestinian affairs correspondent for Israel's public radio pointed to the fact that Yitzhak Molcho, the personal envoy of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, has already been holding talks with Erakat, which were still ongoing.
"Now Livni is being added, but it is still not a meeting at the level of the leaders (Netanyahu and Abbas)," he said.
The Hamas movement which runs the Gaza Strip rejected a return to talks, its spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri saying Abbas had no legitimate right to negotiate on behalf of the Palestinian people.
He told AFP the movement "considers the Palestinian Authority's return to negotiations with the occupation to be at odds with the national consensus".
EU foreign affairs chief Catherine Ashton warmly welcomed the agreement, adding her "great hope that we may finally see progress towards the objectives which they share along with their friends and allies around the world."
UN chief Ban Ki-moon called on both side sides to "show courage and responsibility" to ensure that once the talks resume that they can be sustained.
The announcement came hours after US Secretary of State John Kerry told reporters in Amman late on Friday that Israeli and Palestinian negotiators had laid the groundwork to resume the frozen peace talks.
Kerry said that as a first step Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erakat and his Israeli counterpart Tzipi Livni would meet him in Washington "to begin initial talks within the next week or so".
The last round of direct talks broke down in 2010 over the issue of Israeli settlements in the West Bank and east Jerusalem. The issue of continued expansion of illegal Jewish settlements remains one of the biggest stumbling blocks between the two sides.
On Saturday, Israeli Intelligence Minister Yuval Steinitz said his government would engage in the staged release of a "limited number" of prisoners, some of whom have been in Israeli jails for 30 years.
Steinitz provided no other details but said "there will definitely be a certain gesture here".
Kerry's announcement came after he spent four days consulting the Israeli and Palestinian leadership from his base in an Amman hotel and a late Friday helicopter dash to the Palestinian Authority in Ramallah.
Just minutes before boarding a plane to fly home, Kerry told reporters both sides had reached "an agreement that establishes a basis for resuming direct final status negotiations".
"This is a significant and welcome step forward," he added, having doggedly pushed the two sides to agree to resume talks in six intense trips to the region since becoming the top US diplomat in February.
But he warned that the issues separating the sides were "difficult" and "complicated".
A US State Department official said Kerry had wrenched a commitment from both sides "on the core elements that will allow direct talks to begin".
The Israelis and Palestinians remain far apart on final status issues including the borders of a future Palestinian state, the right of return of Palestinian refugees, and the fate of Jerusalem which both want as their capital.
Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas has also repeatedly called for a freeze to Israeli settlement building and a release of prisoners.
Analysts cautioned against reading too much into the latest developments.
Chico Menashe, diplomatic commentator for Israeli public radio, likened the situation to "a half-baked cake Kerry removed from the stove. Kerry convinced the Israelis and Palestinians it was edible, and both sides agreed to eat it."
Gal Berger, Palestinian affairs correspondent for Israel's public radio pointed to the fact that Yitzhak Molcho, the personal envoy of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, has already been holding talks with Erakat, which were still ongoing.
"Now Livni is being added, but it is still not a meeting at the level of the leaders (Netanyahu and Abbas)," he said.
The Hamas movement which runs the Gaza Strip rejected a return to talks, its spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri saying Abbas had no legitimate right to negotiate on behalf of the Palestinian people.
He told AFP the movement "considers the Palestinian Authority's return to negotiations with the occupation to be at odds with the national consensus".
EU foreign affairs chief Catherine Ashton warmly welcomed the agreement, adding her "great hope that we may finally see progress towards the objectives which they share along with their friends and allies around the world."
UN chief Ban Ki-moon called on both side sides to "show courage and responsibility" to ensure that once the talks resume that they can be sustained.
Laborers working at the construction site of a new housing project at the settlement of Gilo in al-Quds
The (Persian) Gulf Cooperation Council [(P)GCC] has hailed the European Union’s plans to ban the bloc from funding projects in Israeli settlements built on Palestinian territories.
The six-member state council welcomed "the European Union's decision which they hope will back international efforts to revive peace talks between Palestinians and Israel, and press Israel to end its occupation of Palestinian territories," Secretary-General of the Council Abdullatif al-Zayani, said on Saturday.
The EU published new guidelines in its Official Journal on Friday, banning its 28 members from funding projects in Israeli settlements in al-Quds (Jerusalem), the West Bank or Golan Heights, which the Tel Aviv regime occupied during the 1967 war.
Zayani said the EU ban was “wise” and “reflects the EU's solid stance in rejecting Israel's settlement policy and its confiscating of Palestinian territories in a clear violation of all agreements, international law, and UN resolutions."
The Guidelines are part of the 2014-20 financial frameworks which incorporate all sectors of cooperation between the EU and Israel, including economics, science, culture, sports and academia.
On Thursday, Israeli officials met with the British, French, and German ambassadors over the EU ban, claiming that the move would lead to a serious crisis between Israel and the EU.
Earlier in the day, Israeli President Shimon Peres joined the chorus of Israeli officials criticizing the EU decision. He claimed that the new directive would undermine attempts by US Secretary of State John Kerry to relaunch peace talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority.
The Tel Aviv regime has increased its illegal settlement expansion following an upgrade of Palestine’s status at the UN to a non-member observer state on November 29, 2012.
More than half a million Israelis live in over 120 settlements built since the 1967 Israeli occupation of the West Bank and East al-Quds. The international community considers the settlements illegal.
The (Persian) Gulf Cooperation Council [(P)GCC] has hailed the European Union’s plans to ban the bloc from funding projects in Israeli settlements built on Palestinian territories.
The six-member state council welcomed "the European Union's decision which they hope will back international efforts to revive peace talks between Palestinians and Israel, and press Israel to end its occupation of Palestinian territories," Secretary-General of the Council Abdullatif al-Zayani, said on Saturday.
The EU published new guidelines in its Official Journal on Friday, banning its 28 members from funding projects in Israeli settlements in al-Quds (Jerusalem), the West Bank or Golan Heights, which the Tel Aviv regime occupied during the 1967 war.
Zayani said the EU ban was “wise” and “reflects the EU's solid stance in rejecting Israel's settlement policy and its confiscating of Palestinian territories in a clear violation of all agreements, international law, and UN resolutions."
The Guidelines are part of the 2014-20 financial frameworks which incorporate all sectors of cooperation between the EU and Israel, including economics, science, culture, sports and academia.
On Thursday, Israeli officials met with the British, French, and German ambassadors over the EU ban, claiming that the move would lead to a serious crisis between Israel and the EU.
Earlier in the day, Israeli President Shimon Peres joined the chorus of Israeli officials criticizing the EU decision. He claimed that the new directive would undermine attempts by US Secretary of State John Kerry to relaunch peace talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority.
The Tel Aviv regime has increased its illegal settlement expansion following an upgrade of Palestine’s status at the UN to a non-member observer state on November 29, 2012.
More than half a million Israelis live in over 120 settlements built since the 1967 Israeli occupation of the West Bank and East al-Quds. The international community considers the settlements illegal.
Member of Hamas's political bureau Ezzat Al-Resheq denounced the Palestinian Authority (PA) for its decision to restart new rounds of useless negotiations with the Israeli regime. In a press release on Saturday, Resheq said that the peace talks with Israel had proved many times its failure to achieve the Palestinian people's aspirations, warning that these negotiations would lead to further settlement and Judaization activities and further loss of the Palestinian rights.
The Hamas official also underscored that the Palestinian people would not be bound by the results of these talks because they would be held with no national consensus and unanimity, and against the will of the Palestinian people.
He called on the PA and Fatah to reconsider their decision in this regard and stop selling illusions to the Palestinian people.
For his part, Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum said that the PA yielded to the US pressures and the Israeli demands, and described the peace talks as a grand prize for the Israeli regime and a big loss for the Palestinian people.
Barhoum said the peace talks always provides Israel and the US with a cover to further their Zionist project in Palestine.
He called for exposing the facts of these talks to the Palestinian public opinion and not giving them any Arab support because they are detrimental to the unity of the Palestinian people and the future of their national cause.
Palestinian factions denounce PA decision to return to negotiations
Popular Resistance Movement described the Palestinian Authority's decision to return to negotiations with the Israeli occupation as "a relinquishment of Palestinian constants". U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry announced the resumption of the Palestinian-Israeli negotiations, and pointed out that the Israeli and Palestinian delegations will soon begin negotiations in Washington.
An official source in the Popular Resistance Movement said in a press statement that his movement rejects the Palestinian Authority's decision to return to negotiations with the occupation since it "does not reflect the will of the Palestinian people."
He stressed that the only way to achieve freedom and liberation is to complete the Palestinian reconciliation process and end the division
For their part, independent Palestinian figures displayed complete rejection to the resumption of negotiations and to the freezing of the reconciliation.
They pointed out that the people's anger is rising day after day as a result of the deteriorating economic situation and the high rate of unemployment and crime, and urged the Palestinian people to unite against all those who have been enhancing the division.
The Islamic Jihad movement considered that a return to negotiations between the Palestinian Authority and the Jewish state under American auspices "a waste of time and an attempt to impose a fait accompli", adding that the negotiations serve only the occupation's interests.
Rizqa: PA decision to resume talks does not represent the people’s will
The Palestinian government in Gaza Strip has considered the PA's decision to resume talks with the Israelis a “betrayal” that does not represent the Palestinian people’s will. Dr. Yousef Rizqa, Political Adviser to the Palestinian Prime Minister, strongly condemned the PA acceptance to resume talks under Israeli and US conditions, saying that it came in total contradiction to the Palestinian people and factions' will.
He confirmed that these illegitimate and illegal talks will provide a cover to the Israeli settlement schemes.
“There's nothing new in Kerry's latest peace proposals”, Rizka said. He opined that the US efforts were exploiting current developments in the Arab region to pressure the Palestinians to accept the peace talks’ proposal.
Kerry has met with eleven Arab foreign ministers in Amman in order to gain support for his proposals, he noted.
Rizqa pointed to the PA misleading media campaign that promotes the PA keenness to gain a US vow that negotiations would be based on a return to 1967 borders.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry declared the resumption of peace talks between the Palestinian and Israeli parties, noting that two delegations will start negotiations soon in Washington.
The Hamas official also underscored that the Palestinian people would not be bound by the results of these talks because they would be held with no national consensus and unanimity, and against the will of the Palestinian people.
He called on the PA and Fatah to reconsider their decision in this regard and stop selling illusions to the Palestinian people.
For his part, Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum said that the PA yielded to the US pressures and the Israeli demands, and described the peace talks as a grand prize for the Israeli regime and a big loss for the Palestinian people.
Barhoum said the peace talks always provides Israel and the US with a cover to further their Zionist project in Palestine.
He called for exposing the facts of these talks to the Palestinian public opinion and not giving them any Arab support because they are detrimental to the unity of the Palestinian people and the future of their national cause.
Palestinian factions denounce PA decision to return to negotiations
Popular Resistance Movement described the Palestinian Authority's decision to return to negotiations with the Israeli occupation as "a relinquishment of Palestinian constants". U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry announced the resumption of the Palestinian-Israeli negotiations, and pointed out that the Israeli and Palestinian delegations will soon begin negotiations in Washington.
An official source in the Popular Resistance Movement said in a press statement that his movement rejects the Palestinian Authority's decision to return to negotiations with the occupation since it "does not reflect the will of the Palestinian people."
He stressed that the only way to achieve freedom and liberation is to complete the Palestinian reconciliation process and end the division
For their part, independent Palestinian figures displayed complete rejection to the resumption of negotiations and to the freezing of the reconciliation.
They pointed out that the people's anger is rising day after day as a result of the deteriorating economic situation and the high rate of unemployment and crime, and urged the Palestinian people to unite against all those who have been enhancing the division.
The Islamic Jihad movement considered that a return to negotiations between the Palestinian Authority and the Jewish state under American auspices "a waste of time and an attempt to impose a fait accompli", adding that the negotiations serve only the occupation's interests.
Rizqa: PA decision to resume talks does not represent the people’s will
The Palestinian government in Gaza Strip has considered the PA's decision to resume talks with the Israelis a “betrayal” that does not represent the Palestinian people’s will. Dr. Yousef Rizqa, Political Adviser to the Palestinian Prime Minister, strongly condemned the PA acceptance to resume talks under Israeli and US conditions, saying that it came in total contradiction to the Palestinian people and factions' will.
He confirmed that these illegitimate and illegal talks will provide a cover to the Israeli settlement schemes.
“There's nothing new in Kerry's latest peace proposals”, Rizka said. He opined that the US efforts were exploiting current developments in the Arab region to pressure the Palestinians to accept the peace talks’ proposal.
Kerry has met with eleven Arab foreign ministers in Amman in order to gain support for his proposals, he noted.
Rizqa pointed to the PA misleading media campaign that promotes the PA keenness to gain a US vow that negotiations would be based on a return to 1967 borders.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry declared the resumption of peace talks between the Palestinian and Israeli parties, noting that two delegations will start negotiations soon in Washington.
Israeli conservative Likud Party lawmaker Tzachi Hanegbi said that Benjamin Netanyahu government can never accept the Palestinian precondition to halt settlement construction before the resumption of talks. Israel will never accept to freeze settlement construction, he said, pointing to the Israeli previous government's unsuccessful experience with peace talks.
MK Hanegbi praised the US position in support of the Israeli attitude that refuses any Palestinian precondition to resume talks.
For its part, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) expressed its total rejection to the resumption of talks under U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry's mediation, considering it a "political suicide."
The resumption of peace talks away from UN resolutions is a political suicide that will encourage the Israeli settlement crimes against Palestinian properties, PFLP said in a press release on Friday.
PLFP called on PA to join the international organizations particularly the International Criminal Court and the Geneva accords and not compromise the Palestinian people’s legitimate rights guaranteed by international laws and conventions.
PA has demanded to halt all settlement construction and recognize the pre-1967 border lines as precondition to resume talks. However, Israeli officials declared that establishing a Palestinian state on the 1967 borders would be "suicidal".
MK Hanegbi praised the US position in support of the Israeli attitude that refuses any Palestinian precondition to resume talks.
For its part, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) expressed its total rejection to the resumption of talks under U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry's mediation, considering it a "political suicide."
The resumption of peace talks away from UN resolutions is a political suicide that will encourage the Israeli settlement crimes against Palestinian properties, PFLP said in a press release on Friday.
PLFP called on PA to join the international organizations particularly the International Criminal Court and the Geneva accords and not compromise the Palestinian people’s legitimate rights guaranteed by international laws and conventions.
PA has demanded to halt all settlement construction and recognize the pre-1967 border lines as precondition to resume talks. However, Israeli officials declared that establishing a Palestinian state on the 1967 borders would be "suicidal".
Israeli politicians on Saturday hailed an announcement by US Secretary of State John Kerry of a breakthrough in talks with Palestinians but warned it was an opportunity that could not be missed.
Kerry had on Friday night said that Israeli and Palestinian negotiators have laid the groundwork to resume peace talks, frozen for almost three years, and will meet in Washington in the near future.
Quick to respond was Israeli negotiator and Justice Minister Tzipi Livni, who will be representing Israel at the Washington talks.
"These were long months of skepticism and cynicism," she said in a statement late Friday night. "But now, four years of diplomatic stagnation are about to end."
Livni acknowledged the fact that talks would likely be "complex and not easy," but said she was convinced this is "the right thing for our future, our security, our economy and values."
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office has refused to comment on Kerry's statement and no members of his Likud party have so far publicly voiced their opinion on it.
Environment Minister Amir Peretz of Livni's HaTnuah party however called it "a great opportunity that cannot be missed".
"I call on the Labor party and entire peace camp to support the move and strengthen it," said Peretz, who himself was a member of the Labor party until 2012, on his Facebook page.
Opposition and Labor party leader Shelly Yachimovich called the "renewal" of talks "an important opportunity to finally make progress toward an agreement between us and the Palestinians. We shouldn't suffice with renewing the negotiations, but do everything to work toward a real agreement."
Arab-Israeli Knesset member Esawi Frij of the left-wing Meretz party also praised the development, but said he "had no illusions".
"I hope Bibi isn't planning on fudging us and the world again," he wrote on his Facebook page, using Netanyahu's nickname, "and entering negotiations just for the sake of negotiations, to finally blow up the whole thing with childish blaming games."
Kerry's announcement came at the end of four days of intense diplomacy by the secretary of state as he consulted Israeli and Palestinian leaders from his base in the Jordanian capital Amman.
Talks have stuttered and started for decades in the elusive bid to reach a final peace deal between the Arab world and Israel.
But they collapsed completely in September 2010 when Israel refused to keep up a freeze on settlement building in Palestinian territories.
Israeli media were largely silent on the breakthrough as Saturday is the Jewish day of rest, but Barak Ravid of the left-leaning Haaretz newspaper called Kerry's announcement "a personal triumph" for Livni who lived up to her electoral promises.
Ravid said Netanyahu's intentions on renewing talks remained unclear.
"But if he is in it for the real thing, he will have to for the first time present clear stances and explain where for him Israel ends and Palestine begins," he wrote.
Kerry had on Friday night said that Israeli and Palestinian negotiators have laid the groundwork to resume peace talks, frozen for almost three years, and will meet in Washington in the near future.
Quick to respond was Israeli negotiator and Justice Minister Tzipi Livni, who will be representing Israel at the Washington talks.
"These were long months of skepticism and cynicism," she said in a statement late Friday night. "But now, four years of diplomatic stagnation are about to end."
Livni acknowledged the fact that talks would likely be "complex and not easy," but said she was convinced this is "the right thing for our future, our security, our economy and values."
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office has refused to comment on Kerry's statement and no members of his Likud party have so far publicly voiced their opinion on it.
Environment Minister Amir Peretz of Livni's HaTnuah party however called it "a great opportunity that cannot be missed".
"I call on the Labor party and entire peace camp to support the move and strengthen it," said Peretz, who himself was a member of the Labor party until 2012, on his Facebook page.
Opposition and Labor party leader Shelly Yachimovich called the "renewal" of talks "an important opportunity to finally make progress toward an agreement between us and the Palestinians. We shouldn't suffice with renewing the negotiations, but do everything to work toward a real agreement."
Arab-Israeli Knesset member Esawi Frij of the left-wing Meretz party also praised the development, but said he "had no illusions".
"I hope Bibi isn't planning on fudging us and the world again," he wrote on his Facebook page, using Netanyahu's nickname, "and entering negotiations just for the sake of negotiations, to finally blow up the whole thing with childish blaming games."
Kerry's announcement came at the end of four days of intense diplomacy by the secretary of state as he consulted Israeli and Palestinian leaders from his base in the Jordanian capital Amman.
Talks have stuttered and started for decades in the elusive bid to reach a final peace deal between the Arab world and Israel.
But they collapsed completely in September 2010 when Israel refused to keep up a freeze on settlement building in Palestinian territories.
Israeli media were largely silent on the breakthrough as Saturday is the Jewish day of rest, but Barak Ravid of the left-leaning Haaretz newspaper called Kerry's announcement "a personal triumph" for Livni who lived up to her electoral promises.
Ravid said Netanyahu's intentions on renewing talks remained unclear.
"But if he is in it for the real thing, he will have to for the first time present clear stances and explain where for him Israel ends and Palestine begins," he wrote.
After a rush of last-minute talks with Palestinian officials, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry sealed a step toward relaunching the long-halted Mideast peace process, announcing Friday that Israel and the Palestinians had agreed on a basis for returning to negotiations.
The statement, which came in a press conference after a day in which Kerry shuttled between the Jordanian capital and the West Bank, reflected how painstakingly incremental movement in the process is. While it appeared deep differences over the groundwork of talks had been bridged, the two sides are to meet — likely in the coming week — to work out final details on actually resuming their negotiations on the toughest issues of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Up to the last minute, the Palestinians had been reluctant to sign on to Kerry’s formula for returning to the table with the Israelis, five years after talks broke down.
Late Thursday, the Palestinian leadership said it was sticking by its demand that any negotiations on final borders between Israel and a Palestinian state be based on the cease-fire line that held from 1949 until the 1967 war, when Israel captured the West Bank, Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem. Israel rejects preconditions on the talks.
Kerry held extended talks Friday morning with top Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat in Amman, then spoke by phone with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Kerry then flew by helicopter to meet Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in the West Bank town of Ramallah, although his departure was delayed by nearly three hours.
Returning to Amman, Kerry told reporters, “We have reached an agreement that establishes the basis for resuming direct final status negotiations between the Palestinians and the Israelis.” He added, “This is a significant and welcome step forward.”
Still, he said “the agreement is still in the process of being formalized” and the Israeli and Palestinian chief negotiators — Tzipi Livni and Erekat — would hold initial talks in Washington “within the next week or so.”
Kerry would not give details on the agreement on the negotiations’ basis. “The best way to give these negotiations a chance is to keep them private,” he said. “We know that the challenges require some very tough choices in the days ahead. Today, however, I am hopeful.”
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon commended Kerry’s efforts and the decision by the parties to return to the negotiating table, pledged U.N. support, and called on both sides “to show leadership, courage, and responsibility to sustain this effort towards achieving the two-state vision,” U.N. spokesman Martin Nesirky said.
Kerry has made winning a resumption of Mideast peace talks a priority, and this was his sixth visit to the region as secretary of state. He has been in the region since Monday, meeting in person with Abbas three times over the course of the week. By contrast, he did not see Netanyahu in person at all, but spoke to him numerous times by phone.
Netanyahu’s office said it would not immediately comment on Kerry’s announcement.
The statement, which came in a press conference after a day in which Kerry shuttled between the Jordanian capital and the West Bank, reflected how painstakingly incremental movement in the process is. While it appeared deep differences over the groundwork of talks had been bridged, the two sides are to meet — likely in the coming week — to work out final details on actually resuming their negotiations on the toughest issues of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Up to the last minute, the Palestinians had been reluctant to sign on to Kerry’s formula for returning to the table with the Israelis, five years after talks broke down.
Late Thursday, the Palestinian leadership said it was sticking by its demand that any negotiations on final borders between Israel and a Palestinian state be based on the cease-fire line that held from 1949 until the 1967 war, when Israel captured the West Bank, Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem. Israel rejects preconditions on the talks.
Kerry held extended talks Friday morning with top Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat in Amman, then spoke by phone with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Kerry then flew by helicopter to meet Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in the West Bank town of Ramallah, although his departure was delayed by nearly three hours.
Returning to Amman, Kerry told reporters, “We have reached an agreement that establishes the basis for resuming direct final status negotiations between the Palestinians and the Israelis.” He added, “This is a significant and welcome step forward.”
Still, he said “the agreement is still in the process of being formalized” and the Israeli and Palestinian chief negotiators — Tzipi Livni and Erekat — would hold initial talks in Washington “within the next week or so.”
Kerry would not give details on the agreement on the negotiations’ basis. “The best way to give these negotiations a chance is to keep them private,” he said. “We know that the challenges require some very tough choices in the days ahead. Today, however, I am hopeful.”
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon commended Kerry’s efforts and the decision by the parties to return to the negotiating table, pledged U.N. support, and called on both sides “to show leadership, courage, and responsibility to sustain this effort towards achieving the two-state vision,” U.N. spokesman Martin Nesirky said.
Kerry has made winning a resumption of Mideast peace talks a priority, and this was his sixth visit to the region as secretary of state. He has been in the region since Monday, meeting in person with Abbas three times over the course of the week. By contrast, he did not see Netanyahu in person at all, but spoke to him numerous times by phone.
Netanyahu’s office said it would not immediately comment on Kerry’s announcement.