31 dec 2013
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"Building in the territories in exchange for freeing prisoners is the equation created by the Israeli premier Benjamin Netanyahu since the negotiations began," Israel's channel 2 stated in a recent report on its screen. Since the beginning of the negotiations, the Israeli government has progressed in the construction of 8,056 housing units in the occupied territories, the channel said.
The channel claimed that the building of these housing units has still not started, but it affirmed that an aerial tour of the West Bank reveals the actual construction of thousands of housing units already. "The largest amount of construction is reported to be in Bracha, close to |
Nablus. Not far away, in Yitzhar, another construction project appears to be in the works these days. A similar picture emerges in the landscape of Nehemiah. The building boom did not skip over Ariel either," the report elaborated further.
"So how many housing units are being built these days in the territories? According to estimates by settlers, about 1,400 housing units are being built in the territories. The Israel central bureau of statistics states about 2,500 housing units are being constructed, while if you ask Peace Now, the number is about 3,000."
"Every increase in settlement construction within the territories brings home the message that PA chairman Mahmoud Abbas cannot justify the Palestinians continuing to negotiate with Israel."
"If Netanyahu really wants a two-state solution, there is no reason now to build thousands of housing units in the territories," the channel quoted Lior Amichai of Peace Now as saying.
"Netanyahu is exploiting the negotiations and the release of prisoners in order to build and certify thousands of housing units," Amichai added.
It also quoted Yigal Dilmoni, Yesha council head, as saying that the release of Palestinian prisoners "is designed to satisfy their desire for negotiations, the Palestinians and some elements of the government."
"So how many housing units are being built these days in the territories? According to estimates by settlers, about 1,400 housing units are being built in the territories. The Israel central bureau of statistics states about 2,500 housing units are being constructed, while if you ask Peace Now, the number is about 3,000."
"Every increase in settlement construction within the territories brings home the message that PA chairman Mahmoud Abbas cannot justify the Palestinians continuing to negotiate with Israel."
"If Netanyahu really wants a two-state solution, there is no reason now to build thousands of housing units in the territories," the channel quoted Lior Amichai of Peace Now as saying.
"Netanyahu is exploiting the negotiations and the release of prisoners in order to build and certify thousands of housing units," Amichai added.
It also quoted Yigal Dilmoni, Yesha council head, as saying that the release of Palestinian prisoners "is designed to satisfy their desire for negotiations, the Palestinians and some elements of the government."
30 dec 2013
The Palestinian Prisoners' Society said on Sunday that 32 veteran Palestinian prisoners will remain in Israeli jails after 26 are released early Tuesday.
Twenty-six more pre-Oslo prisoners are scheduled to be released in early 2014, which would leave just six of such prisoners left in Israeli jails.
The remaining Prisoners who fit the agreed-upon criteria for the release are as follows:
1. Karim Yusif Fadel Yunis
2. Maher Abd al-Atif AbdulKadir Yunis
3. Mohammad Abd al-Hamid al-Tus
4. Ibrahim Nayef Hamdan Abu Mukh
5. Rushdi Hamdan Mohammad Abu Mukh
6. Walid Nimr Asad Dakka
7. Ibrahim Abd al-Razzaq Ahmad Bayadsa
8. Ahmad Ali Hussein Abu Jabir
9. Samir Ibrahim Mahmoud Abu Nimah
10. Mohammad Adel Hassan Dauwod
11. Bashir Abdullah Kamil al-Khatib
12. Mahmoud Othman Ibrahim Jabareen
13. Juma Ibrahim Juma Adam
14. Mahmoud Salim Suleiman Abu Kharbish
15. Samir Salih Taha Sirsaoui
16. Raed Mohammad Sharif al-Sadi
17. Faris Ahmad Mohammad Baroud
18. Ibrahim Hassan Mahmoud Ighbariya
19. Yahia Mustafa Mohammad Ighbariya
20. Mohammad Said Hassan Ighbariya
21. Mohammad Tawfiq Suleiman Jabareen
22. Diya Zakaria Shaker al-Falouji
23. Mohammad Fawzi Salama Falna
24. Nasser Hassan Abd al-Majid Abu Srour
25. Mahmoud Jamil Hassan Abu Srour
26. Mahmoud Moussa Issa Issa
27. Nael Rafiq Ibrahim Salhab
28. Mohammad Yusif Abd al-Jawad Shamasna
29. Abd al-Jawad Yusif Abd al-Jawad Shamasna
30. Aladin Fahmi Fahd al-Karki
31. Sadi Mahmoud Said al-Gharabli
32. Saed Yusif Abed Khatatba
Israel agreed to release 104 veteran Palestinian prisoners who have been in custody since before the 1993 Oslo Accords as part of a plan to resume peace negotiations after talks were halted for more than two years.
The release of the 26 Palestinian prisoners set for Dec. 31 is the third part of that four-stage deal, and Israel has already released 52 prisoners in two previous rounds.
Before the names of this round of prisoners were made public, Israeli military radio said Netanyahu would announce the construction of 1,400 new settlement homes in the occupied West Bank coinciding with the release.
Over 5,200 Palestinians are being held in Israeli jails according to the Palestinian Authority's Ministry of Prisoners' Affairs.
Since 1967, more than 650,000 Palestinians have been detained by Israel, representing 20 percent of the total population and 40 percent of all males in the occupied territories.
Under international law, it is illegal to transfer prisoners outside of the occupied territory in which they are detained, and the families of Palestinian prisoners' face many obstacles in obtaining permits to see their imprisoned relatives.
The internationally recognized Palestinian territories of which the West Bank and East Jerusalem form a part have been occupied by the Israeli military since 1967.
Twenty-six more pre-Oslo prisoners are scheduled to be released in early 2014, which would leave just six of such prisoners left in Israeli jails.
The remaining Prisoners who fit the agreed-upon criteria for the release are as follows:
1. Karim Yusif Fadel Yunis
2. Maher Abd al-Atif AbdulKadir Yunis
3. Mohammad Abd al-Hamid al-Tus
4. Ibrahim Nayef Hamdan Abu Mukh
5. Rushdi Hamdan Mohammad Abu Mukh
6. Walid Nimr Asad Dakka
7. Ibrahim Abd al-Razzaq Ahmad Bayadsa
8. Ahmad Ali Hussein Abu Jabir
9. Samir Ibrahim Mahmoud Abu Nimah
10. Mohammad Adel Hassan Dauwod
11. Bashir Abdullah Kamil al-Khatib
12. Mahmoud Othman Ibrahim Jabareen
13. Juma Ibrahim Juma Adam
14. Mahmoud Salim Suleiman Abu Kharbish
15. Samir Salih Taha Sirsaoui
16. Raed Mohammad Sharif al-Sadi
17. Faris Ahmad Mohammad Baroud
18. Ibrahim Hassan Mahmoud Ighbariya
19. Yahia Mustafa Mohammad Ighbariya
20. Mohammad Said Hassan Ighbariya
21. Mohammad Tawfiq Suleiman Jabareen
22. Diya Zakaria Shaker al-Falouji
23. Mohammad Fawzi Salama Falna
24. Nasser Hassan Abd al-Majid Abu Srour
25. Mahmoud Jamil Hassan Abu Srour
26. Mahmoud Moussa Issa Issa
27. Nael Rafiq Ibrahim Salhab
28. Mohammad Yusif Abd al-Jawad Shamasna
29. Abd al-Jawad Yusif Abd al-Jawad Shamasna
30. Aladin Fahmi Fahd al-Karki
31. Sadi Mahmoud Said al-Gharabli
32. Saed Yusif Abed Khatatba
Israel agreed to release 104 veteran Palestinian prisoners who have been in custody since before the 1993 Oslo Accords as part of a plan to resume peace negotiations after talks were halted for more than two years.
The release of the 26 Palestinian prisoners set for Dec. 31 is the third part of that four-stage deal, and Israel has already released 52 prisoners in two previous rounds.
Before the names of this round of prisoners were made public, Israeli military radio said Netanyahu would announce the construction of 1,400 new settlement homes in the occupied West Bank coinciding with the release.
Over 5,200 Palestinians are being held in Israeli jails according to the Palestinian Authority's Ministry of Prisoners' Affairs.
Since 1967, more than 650,000 Palestinians have been detained by Israel, representing 20 percent of the total population and 40 percent of all males in the occupied territories.
Under international law, it is illegal to transfer prisoners outside of the occupied territory in which they are detained, and the families of Palestinian prisoners' face many obstacles in obtaining permits to see their imprisoned relatives.
The internationally recognized Palestinian territories of which the West Bank and East Jerusalem form a part have been occupied by the Israeli military since 1967.
A relative of prisoner Said al-Tamimi weeps as family and friends prepare his home after receiving the news of his impending release from an Israeli jail, in the West Bank village of Nabi Saleh, on December 29, 2013.
By Charlie Hoyle
Conditions attached to the release of Palestinian prisoners prove that Israel is not serious about the peace process, the director of rights group Addameer said Monday as 26 Palestinians prepared to be freed from Israeli jails.
Israeli authorities are expected to release the veteran Palestinian prisoners after midnight in the third stage of a phased agreement to free 104 detainees in line with commitments to US-brokered peace talks, which began in July.
In October, Israel released a group of 26 Palestinians detained before the 1993 Oslo Accords, while a first group was freed on Aug. 13.
Sahar Francis, general director of rights group Addameer, said that while any release of prisoners is welcome, strict Israeli conditions on freed detainees undermine "hope" and "trust" in the peace process.
"Israel has showed it is putting conditions on prisoner releases and the US supports these conditions. Prisoners held before 1993 should have been released 20 years ago, and not today," she told Ma'an.
Francis says that Israel restricts the freedom of movement of Palestinians freed as part of political agreements, with residents of East Jerusalem banned from visiting the West Bank or Gaza Strip following their release.
West Bank residents are banned from leaving their district for months, and in some cases up to a year, following a return to civilian life, while released prisoners are also prohibited from leaving the country for varying periods of time depending on their sentence, with some permanently banned.
Any involvement in political activities can be also grounds for rearrest and imprisonment by Israeli authorities.
"These practices show that the Israelis are not really seeking justice and a lasting peace with the Palestinians," Francis said.
"If the Israelis really had good intentions to end the conflict and grant Palestinians basic rights under international law they should release all Palestinian prisoners and stop arresting Palestinians in the occupied territories."
Israel treats Palestinians like 'terrorists'
In past prisoner releases, Israel has rearrested dozens of ex-detainees under Military Order 1651, which Francis says violates the most "basic rights" of Palestinian prisoners.
The order, which was implemented in 2009, allows for an Israeli military committee to sentence detainees to serve the remainder of their previous sentence under secret information not made available to lawyers.
Francis says the order was implemented by Israel to prepare "legally" for the release of prisoners which Israel would be reluctant to free and to impose conditions which would allow them to be rearrested in the future.
Israel has also violated international law by stipulating that freed detainees be deported to the Gaza Strip, or abroad, as part of the conditions of their release, Francis said.
Both Samer Issawi and Ayman Sharawna were rearrested by Israel under Military Order 1651 after being freed in the 2011 prisoner swap deal between Israel and Hamas, with Sharawna eventually deported to Gaza for 10 years after agreeing to end hunger strike action.
Hana Shalabi was also rearrested under the military order and subsequently deported to Gaza for three years under the conditions of her release.
These new procedures represent "serious violations" of human rights and prove that the Palestinian community can see little hope in the future of the peace process, Francis says.
Furthermore, Israel continues its policy of daily arrests in the occupied West Bank, which has increased in recent months, and has never committed to stopping the mass arrest of Palestinians while negotiations are taking place, Francis says.
"Israel recognizes Palestinians as terrorists and not as people seeking their independence and self determination, and this makes the whole difference in the treatment of prisoners in the political channel."
"We are happy that these 26 prisoners who spent years of their life in jail are being freed, of course the sadness is in thinking of the remaining 5,000 prisoners who are suffering behind bars."
By Charlie Hoyle
Conditions attached to the release of Palestinian prisoners prove that Israel is not serious about the peace process, the director of rights group Addameer said Monday as 26 Palestinians prepared to be freed from Israeli jails.
Israeli authorities are expected to release the veteran Palestinian prisoners after midnight in the third stage of a phased agreement to free 104 detainees in line with commitments to US-brokered peace talks, which began in July.
In October, Israel released a group of 26 Palestinians detained before the 1993 Oslo Accords, while a first group was freed on Aug. 13.
Sahar Francis, general director of rights group Addameer, said that while any release of prisoners is welcome, strict Israeli conditions on freed detainees undermine "hope" and "trust" in the peace process.
"Israel has showed it is putting conditions on prisoner releases and the US supports these conditions. Prisoners held before 1993 should have been released 20 years ago, and not today," she told Ma'an.
Francis says that Israel restricts the freedom of movement of Palestinians freed as part of political agreements, with residents of East Jerusalem banned from visiting the West Bank or Gaza Strip following their release.
West Bank residents are banned from leaving their district for months, and in some cases up to a year, following a return to civilian life, while released prisoners are also prohibited from leaving the country for varying periods of time depending on their sentence, with some permanently banned.
Any involvement in political activities can be also grounds for rearrest and imprisonment by Israeli authorities.
"These practices show that the Israelis are not really seeking justice and a lasting peace with the Palestinians," Francis said.
"If the Israelis really had good intentions to end the conflict and grant Palestinians basic rights under international law they should release all Palestinian prisoners and stop arresting Palestinians in the occupied territories."
Israel treats Palestinians like 'terrorists'
In past prisoner releases, Israel has rearrested dozens of ex-detainees under Military Order 1651, which Francis says violates the most "basic rights" of Palestinian prisoners.
The order, which was implemented in 2009, allows for an Israeli military committee to sentence detainees to serve the remainder of their previous sentence under secret information not made available to lawyers.
Francis says the order was implemented by Israel to prepare "legally" for the release of prisoners which Israel would be reluctant to free and to impose conditions which would allow them to be rearrested in the future.
Israel has also violated international law by stipulating that freed detainees be deported to the Gaza Strip, or abroad, as part of the conditions of their release, Francis said.
Both Samer Issawi and Ayman Sharawna were rearrested by Israel under Military Order 1651 after being freed in the 2011 prisoner swap deal between Israel and Hamas, with Sharawna eventually deported to Gaza for 10 years after agreeing to end hunger strike action.
Hana Shalabi was also rearrested under the military order and subsequently deported to Gaza for three years under the conditions of her release.
These new procedures represent "serious violations" of human rights and prove that the Palestinian community can see little hope in the future of the peace process, Francis says.
Furthermore, Israel continues its policy of daily arrests in the occupied West Bank, which has increased in recent months, and has never committed to stopping the mass arrest of Palestinians while negotiations are taking place, Francis says.
"Israel recognizes Palestinians as terrorists and not as people seeking their independence and self determination, and this makes the whole difference in the treatment of prisoners in the political channel."
"We are happy that these 26 prisoners who spent years of their life in jail are being freed, of course the sadness is in thinking of the remaining 5,000 prisoners who are suffering behind bars."
Member of Hamas's political bureau Mousa Abu Marzouk warned of a framework deal to be brokered by US secretary of state John Kerry between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, describing it as a new Oslo agreement. "This framework agreement, if it was agreed upon, the Israeli premier Benjamin Netanyahu would take it to the Zionist Knesset for approval and then sign it, but on the part of the Palestinians, who would sign it and to where he would take it?" Abu Marzouk said in remarks on his facebook page on Sunday.
"Neither presidential nor legislative elections have been held, and even we have not reached a national consensus regarding the reconciliation and ending the division, but if the [Palestinian] people were to be asked to vote on such a deal, as we heard lately, how will it happen and what have we done in this regard?" he stated.
He noted that this agreement contains serious issues affecting the future of all Palestinians.
"Neither presidential nor legislative elections have been held, and even we have not reached a national consensus regarding the reconciliation and ending the division, but if the [Palestinian] people were to be asked to vote on such a deal, as we heard lately, how will it happen and what have we done in this regard?" he stated.
He noted that this agreement contains serious issues affecting the future of all Palestinians.
In an interview with Euronews, Palestinian Chief Negotiator Saeb Erekat argues that the Israelis is “determined to destroy the (ongoing peace) negotiations."
In the interview Erekat said, “I can’t say there have been any real results because of Israeli behaviour away from the negotiating table since the beginning of negotiations again on 29 July.
This resulted in the killing of 31 Palestinians in cold blood, in addition to the Israelis introducing tenders for the construction of 5,992 housing units – which is equivalent to three times normal growth in New York City! Moreover, 209 houses and other Palestinian constructions were destroyed, and there were attacks on the al-Aqsa mosque, plus a rising of terrorist actions by the settlers by 41 percent and a tightening of the siege on the Gaza strip,” Euronews reports.
When asked about the disagreement points between the Palestinian and the Israeli side, Erekat answered, “I can’t go deeply into the details of negotiations, but what must be constructed under the legitimacy of international law is clear and specific. A Palestinian state has no meaning without announcing East Jerusalem as its capital, and there is no Palestine without the Gaza strip as a part of it. Gaza means the Mediterranean and total incorporation. We are the same people. We cannot end this struggle without finding a solution for the refugee issue, referring to UN resolution 194.”
“The Israeli government bears responsibility for the settlements. The Israeli prime minister has already chosen settlements rather than negotiation. He chose to dictate rather than pursue the peace process. Therefore, the Israeli government bears all the responsibility for this crisis in negotiations.”
“Today, Palestine could have membership in 63 organisations and protocols with international charters, including the four Geneva conventions, Vienna and the International Criminal Court. Everybody who is afraid of the international courts must stop their crimes. We are building strong relations with the European Union in order to dry swamp settlements, and we are also building relations with Latin America. We are seeking to get the highest possible number of countries to recognise the Palestinian state, especially within the European Union. But Benjamin Netanyahu has a strategy also based on three foundations: he needs a Palestinian authority without power, and he needs an Israeli occupation without cost, and he is trying to move the Gaza Strip away from the Palestinian space. So, to break his strategy we need to rechannel Palestinian efforts, because we must help each other in this issue. Netanyahu must be aware that we are going to ask for membership in all the 63 international organisations including the International Criminal Court.”
He then went on to elaborate on the reasons as to why it is not possible to admit Israel as a Jewish state where he stated: “This makes us admit that this land is a Jewish land, and I will not accept that at all. I will not change my religion, history and my culture. Political circumstances and international law say that there are two countries on the borders of 1967, and we accept that, but we will not accept Israel as a Jewish state under any circumstance.”
On the issue of Israeli troops on the borders of a future Palestinian state, which has been a big issue during the talks, Erekat argued that no Israeli troops would be accepted on the borders of a future sovereign state of Palestine. He is however postive towards having international troops on the borders, whilst the Israelis is against such a solution.
UN has continually condemned the demolition of Palestinian homes by the Israeli.
In the interview Erekat said, “I can’t say there have been any real results because of Israeli behaviour away from the negotiating table since the beginning of negotiations again on 29 July.
This resulted in the killing of 31 Palestinians in cold blood, in addition to the Israelis introducing tenders for the construction of 5,992 housing units – which is equivalent to three times normal growth in New York City! Moreover, 209 houses and other Palestinian constructions were destroyed, and there were attacks on the al-Aqsa mosque, plus a rising of terrorist actions by the settlers by 41 percent and a tightening of the siege on the Gaza strip,” Euronews reports.
When asked about the disagreement points between the Palestinian and the Israeli side, Erekat answered, “I can’t go deeply into the details of negotiations, but what must be constructed under the legitimacy of international law is clear and specific. A Palestinian state has no meaning without announcing East Jerusalem as its capital, and there is no Palestine without the Gaza strip as a part of it. Gaza means the Mediterranean and total incorporation. We are the same people. We cannot end this struggle without finding a solution for the refugee issue, referring to UN resolution 194.”
“The Israeli government bears responsibility for the settlements. The Israeli prime minister has already chosen settlements rather than negotiation. He chose to dictate rather than pursue the peace process. Therefore, the Israeli government bears all the responsibility for this crisis in negotiations.”
“Today, Palestine could have membership in 63 organisations and protocols with international charters, including the four Geneva conventions, Vienna and the International Criminal Court. Everybody who is afraid of the international courts must stop their crimes. We are building strong relations with the European Union in order to dry swamp settlements, and we are also building relations with Latin America. We are seeking to get the highest possible number of countries to recognise the Palestinian state, especially within the European Union. But Benjamin Netanyahu has a strategy also based on three foundations: he needs a Palestinian authority without power, and he needs an Israeli occupation without cost, and he is trying to move the Gaza Strip away from the Palestinian space. So, to break his strategy we need to rechannel Palestinian efforts, because we must help each other in this issue. Netanyahu must be aware that we are going to ask for membership in all the 63 international organisations including the International Criminal Court.”
He then went on to elaborate on the reasons as to why it is not possible to admit Israel as a Jewish state where he stated: “This makes us admit that this land is a Jewish land, and I will not accept that at all. I will not change my religion, history and my culture. Political circumstances and international law say that there are two countries on the borders of 1967, and we accept that, but we will not accept Israel as a Jewish state under any circumstance.”
On the issue of Israeli troops on the borders of a future Palestinian state, which has been a big issue during the talks, Erekat argued that no Israeli troops would be accepted on the borders of a future sovereign state of Palestine. He is however postive towards having international troops on the borders, whilst the Israelis is against such a solution.
UN has continually condemned the demolition of Palestinian homes by the Israeli.
PLO Executive Committee Member Dr. Saeb Erekat confirmed in a statement that denying Palestine of its only international border with Jordan is a clear step towards a permanent Apartheid regime consisting of one state with two segregated systems.
Erekat elaborated, "Israel has shown once again that it is not interested in a two-state solution. Netanyahu's government continues to destroy international peacemaking efforts by turning its occupation into an annexation."
Erekat said, "The international community must hold Israel accountable for this latest step. This government of settlers, for the settlers and by the settlers is succeeding in destroying the chances of a negotiated two-state solution."
Erekat added, "We reiterate our call upon the international community to ban all settlement products, and to cut all possible ties with the Israeli occupation, including the organizations supporting it."
Erekat calls upon the countries who have not yet recognized the State of Palestine on the 1967 border to do so, saying that Palestine is currently evaluating its next steps, including recourse through legal and diplomatic venues such as the International Criminal Court and other international forums.
Erekat elaborated, "Israel has shown once again that it is not interested in a two-state solution. Netanyahu's government continues to destroy international peacemaking efforts by turning its occupation into an annexation."
Erekat said, "The international community must hold Israel accountable for this latest step. This government of settlers, for the settlers and by the settlers is succeeding in destroying the chances of a negotiated two-state solution."
Erekat added, "We reiterate our call upon the international community to ban all settlement products, and to cut all possible ties with the Israeli occupation, including the organizations supporting it."
Erekat calls upon the countries who have not yet recognized the State of Palestine on the 1967 border to do so, saying that Palestine is currently evaluating its next steps, including recourse through legal and diplomatic venues such as the International Criminal Court and other international forums.
29 dec 2013
Israeli sources said that US Secretary General John Kerry will present a new plan in his upcoming visit to the region regarding the declaration of principles document. The plan will include the borders of 1967 and the land swap under the framework of a permanent peace settlement, they added.
The Israeli radio said that Israeli occupation prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu would agree on the document so as not to accuse "Israel" of derailing negotiations and to obtain the Palestinians and U.S. consent to extend talks period for a year.
Netanyahu revealed in a panel discussion that head of the Jewish Home party Minister Naphtali Bennett hinted out that he would not withdrew from the government even if Israel adopted the American document, the radio reported.
The same sources indicated that Israel is likely to add notes on this document, so this will allow the Jewish Home party to remain in the government coalition, Benet refused to comment on this.
US Secretary of State John Kerry will return to the Middle East next week for talks with Palestinian and Israeli officials on the peace process.
The Israeli radio said that Israeli occupation prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu would agree on the document so as not to accuse "Israel" of derailing negotiations and to obtain the Palestinians and U.S. consent to extend talks period for a year.
Netanyahu revealed in a panel discussion that head of the Jewish Home party Minister Naphtali Bennett hinted out that he would not withdrew from the government even if Israel adopted the American document, the radio reported.
The same sources indicated that Israel is likely to add notes on this document, so this will allow the Jewish Home party to remain in the government coalition, Benet refused to comment on this.
US Secretary of State John Kerry will return to the Middle East next week for talks with Palestinian and Israeli officials on the peace process.
A chief Palestinian official on Sunday condemned an Israeli committee vote in favor of a Knesset bill that would annex the Jordan Valley, placing it under full Israeli sovereignty.
Chief PLO negotiator Saeb Erekat said the decision destroys all efforts for peace with Israel, showing the Israeli government's "indifference" toward international law.
In an interview with Ma'an, Erekat said the Palestinian response should be to seek statehood recognition by the United Nations and other international bodies.
He called on the international community to hold Israel accountable for such a decision.
Israel's Channel Seven reported Sunday that the Ministerial Committee on Legislation voted in favor of a bill that would annex the entirety of the Jordan Valley.
Four ministers approved it and three opposed it, the report said.
Among those opposing it was Tzipi Livni, Israel's minister of justice, who appealed the vote.
"The government is tying its hands and the hands of the prime minister," Livni said, according to the Israeli news site Ynet.
"A profound debate must be held on such issues. You can't ratify such populist proposals ... which cause great damage to the State of Israel and render it isolated in the world."
Livni is charged with overseeing the current round of peace talks with the Palestinians.
The majority of the Jordan Valley is under full Israeli military control, despite being within the Palestinian West Bank.
Over 94 percent of the Jordan Valley and the Dead Sea area is prohibited for Palestinian use, with the land either declared a closed military zone or reserved for illegal Israeli settlements.
Israel has always insisted that a continued military presence on the frontier would be vital for its security for some 10-15 years after Palestinian statehood.
Palestinians reject the idea of an Israeli military presence, but have said an international peacekeeping force would be acceptable.
More than 500,000 Israeli settlers live in settlements across the West Bank and East Jerusalem, in contravention of international law.
The internationally recognized Palestinian territories of which the West Bank and East Jerusalem form a part have been occupied by the Israeli military since 1967.
Chief PLO negotiator Saeb Erekat said the decision destroys all efforts for peace with Israel, showing the Israeli government's "indifference" toward international law.
In an interview with Ma'an, Erekat said the Palestinian response should be to seek statehood recognition by the United Nations and other international bodies.
He called on the international community to hold Israel accountable for such a decision.
Israel's Channel Seven reported Sunday that the Ministerial Committee on Legislation voted in favor of a bill that would annex the entirety of the Jordan Valley.
Four ministers approved it and three opposed it, the report said.
Among those opposing it was Tzipi Livni, Israel's minister of justice, who appealed the vote.
"The government is tying its hands and the hands of the prime minister," Livni said, according to the Israeli news site Ynet.
"A profound debate must be held on such issues. You can't ratify such populist proposals ... which cause great damage to the State of Israel and render it isolated in the world."
Livni is charged with overseeing the current round of peace talks with the Palestinians.
The majority of the Jordan Valley is under full Israeli military control, despite being within the Palestinian West Bank.
Over 94 percent of the Jordan Valley and the Dead Sea area is prohibited for Palestinian use, with the land either declared a closed military zone or reserved for illegal Israeli settlements.
Israel has always insisted that a continued military presence on the frontier would be vital for its security for some 10-15 years after Palestinian statehood.
Palestinians reject the idea of an Israeli military presence, but have said an international peacekeeping force would be acceptable.
More than 500,000 Israeli settlers live in settlements across the West Bank and East Jerusalem, in contravention of international law.
The internationally recognized Palestinian territories of which the West Bank and East Jerusalem form a part have been occupied by the Israeli military since 1967.
28 dec 2013
US Secretary of State John Kerry will return to the Middle East next week for talks with Palestinian and Israeli officials on the peace process, a Palestinian official said Saturday.
"Mr. Kerry has told the Palestinian Authority he will return to the region on January 4 to discuss the peace process and negotiations with Israel," the official told AFP on condition of anonymity.
According to a well-informed Palestinian source, the US chief diplomat plans to stay in the Middle East for a "number of days" in what would be his 10th visit to the region since March.
Kerry, who helped to launch nine-month direct talks between the two sides in July, insisted this month that concrete progress had been made in the peace talks.
But he said details would be kept under wraps as talking about any agreements could be counterproductive.
"I'm personally encouraged that very tough issues are beginning to take shape," he said in an interview with ABC television on Dec. 15.
"But we've agreed not to be talking about what we're doing because it just creates great expectations. It creates pressure. It creates opposition, in some cases.
"I think it's much better for us to do exactly what we've been doing, which is negotiate quietly and privately," he added.
Israeli and Arab media reports say the plan envisaged by Washington would see Israel maintain a military presence on the border after a peace agreement with the Palestinians.
An international force would be acceptable to the Palestinians, but Israel opposes such a solution.
Israel has always insisted that a continued military presence on the frontier would be vital for its security for some 10-15 years after Palestinian statehood.
"Mr. Kerry has told the Palestinian Authority he will return to the region on January 4 to discuss the peace process and negotiations with Israel," the official told AFP on condition of anonymity.
According to a well-informed Palestinian source, the US chief diplomat plans to stay in the Middle East for a "number of days" in what would be his 10th visit to the region since March.
Kerry, who helped to launch nine-month direct talks between the two sides in July, insisted this month that concrete progress had been made in the peace talks.
But he said details would be kept under wraps as talking about any agreements could be counterproductive.
"I'm personally encouraged that very tough issues are beginning to take shape," he said in an interview with ABC television on Dec. 15.
"But we've agreed not to be talking about what we're doing because it just creates great expectations. It creates pressure. It creates opposition, in some cases.
"I think it's much better for us to do exactly what we've been doing, which is negotiate quietly and privately," he added.
Israeli and Arab media reports say the plan envisaged by Washington would see Israel maintain a military presence on the border after a peace agreement with the Palestinians.
An international force would be acceptable to the Palestinians, but Israel opposes such a solution.
Israel has always insisted that a continued military presence on the frontier would be vital for its security for some 10-15 years after Palestinian statehood.
By Khalid Amayreh in occupied Palestine
Listening to media statements by some Palestinian Authority (PA) officials, one occasionally gets the impression that there will be light at the end of the long and dark tunnel of Palestinian-Israeli negotiations.
However, a careful examination of the facts shows beyond any doubt that expecting a breakthrough of any kind from these futile talks would be tantamount to indulging in excessive wishful thinking, daydreaming and infinite naiveté.
Indeed, in order for the current talks to have any real chance of success, Israel would have to change its way of thinking, make a clear and lasting departure from her criminal modes, including showing a real willingness to give up occupied land, stop building colonies on occupied territories and stop transferring Israeli citizens to live on land that belongs to another people.
Obviously, any state that does what Israel is and has been doing for decades not only doesn't want peace, such a state actually doesn't have peace on the list of its national agenda.
Yes, Israeli officials and spokespersons would fill the ether with all sorts of lies about Israel's purported desire for peace. None the less, Israel remains, as it has always been, a murderer, liar and thief.
There is ample evidence that Israel not only doesn't desire peace but actually dreads it as well. The continuous provocations, including cold-blooded murder of innocent Palestinians, show that the Israeli state is after lebensraum, not peace.
More to the point, the arrogant dogged insistence by the Israeli government on treating the PA with utmost disrespect, proves that the Netanyahu government views the weak PLO regime not as an equal peace partner, but rather as a vanquished supplicant that should accept whatever is thrown unto it by the imperial Israeli entity.
In any case, it is highly unlikely that the two-state strategy still has any real chance of seeing daylight, given the cancerous metastasis of Jewish settlements all over the Occupied Territories of the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
True, things done can be undone. But Israel, which is intoxicated by characteristic Talmudic insolence, arrogance of power and the absolute domination of American political life, is in no mood to give up occupied land, especially settlements built since 1967 and viewed as the greatest Jewish achievement since King Solomon.
In fact, one doesn't exaggerate much by saying that Israel has effectively decapitated the two-state solution.
But Israel would never say so openly. Its ultimate goal is not to prevent the creation of a Palestinian political entity at any price. Its real aim is the liquidation of the Palestinian cause by cajoling the Palestinians. e.g. the PLO, to accept a "state" bereft of sovereignty, dignity and substance. Needless to say such a solution would be rejected by the vast majority of the Palestinian people especially if it involved the practical relinquishing by the Palestinian leadership of the paramount right of return for millions of Palestinian refugees uprooted from their ancestral homeland at the hands of Jewish-Zionist invaders coming from overseas.
Yes, there are certain Palestinians, probably people like Mahmoud Abbas and his aide Saeb Ureikat, who would make capitulationist arguments such as this: "This is the maximum we can achieve under current circumstances."
But these people, who will also try hard to induce Palestinians to support this national treason by promising them financial rewards and economic prosperity, will eventually be rejected and ejected by the Palestinian masses.
Yes, most Palestinians would probably like to see a dignified settlement of the conflict, one that meets fundamental Palestinian aspirations, including the repatriation of the refugees as well as an Israeli withdrawal from 100% of the West Bank, including East Jerusalem.
However, in Islam, as is the case in other monotheistic religions, one is not licensed to commit fornication if one doesn't possess the dowry he must pay for marriage.
I am not accusing any Palestinian leaders of treason. However, every Palestinian or Arab leader who deviates from our national constants will be a traitor who is entitled to receive a traitor's treatment.
One more point. There are definitive worrying signs that the Ramallah leadership may be trying to accept the effective liquidation of the Palestinian cause under the rubric of the Arab league.
Seeking to justify such perfidy, some PA spokesmen and mouthpieces would argue that "we cannot be more Arab than the Arabs themselves."
Well, but since when were Arab tyrants really qualified or trusted to liberate Palestine from the clutches of Zionism? Indeed, it is a huge insult to common sense to expect charlatan generals like Abdul Fattah Sisi to make a real stand for Palestinian rights when he didn't hesitate for a minute to order his henchmen to open fire on and murder thousands of innocent Egyptians demanding the return to power of the democratically-elected Egyptian president.
Yes, Sisi may be Egypt's defense minister and de facto ruler of the largest Arab nation. However, he is also a tyrant of the cheapest caliber who is shamelessly acting on Israel's beck and call. In short, those who murder their own people in cold blood can't be expected to stand for Palestine. Palestine needs real heroes like Salahuddin, not real traitors like Abdul Fattah al Sisi.
The same principle applies to Arab kings and presidents- for-life who are answerable to Washington and Tel Aviv and who value the legitimacy that comes from American acceptance more than that which comes from their own people's acceptance.
These people are cowards and traitors par excellence and can't be trusted or entrusted to stand for Palestinian rights.
So, the next time President Abbas feels he has to travel to Cairo to consult with Arab tyrants or their puppet foreign ministers, he should keep in mind that we Palestinians, and no one else, have the sole right to determine our cause and destiny.
Yes, Arabs and other Muslims are welcome to support us extricate our rights from Israel's criminal hands.
But they are not and will not be welcome to act as America's and Israel's agents to pressure us to abandon these rights.
Listening to media statements by some Palestinian Authority (PA) officials, one occasionally gets the impression that there will be light at the end of the long and dark tunnel of Palestinian-Israeli negotiations.
However, a careful examination of the facts shows beyond any doubt that expecting a breakthrough of any kind from these futile talks would be tantamount to indulging in excessive wishful thinking, daydreaming and infinite naiveté.
Indeed, in order for the current talks to have any real chance of success, Israel would have to change its way of thinking, make a clear and lasting departure from her criminal modes, including showing a real willingness to give up occupied land, stop building colonies on occupied territories and stop transferring Israeli citizens to live on land that belongs to another people.
Obviously, any state that does what Israel is and has been doing for decades not only doesn't want peace, such a state actually doesn't have peace on the list of its national agenda.
Yes, Israeli officials and spokespersons would fill the ether with all sorts of lies about Israel's purported desire for peace. None the less, Israel remains, as it has always been, a murderer, liar and thief.
There is ample evidence that Israel not only doesn't desire peace but actually dreads it as well. The continuous provocations, including cold-blooded murder of innocent Palestinians, show that the Israeli state is after lebensraum, not peace.
More to the point, the arrogant dogged insistence by the Israeli government on treating the PA with utmost disrespect, proves that the Netanyahu government views the weak PLO regime not as an equal peace partner, but rather as a vanquished supplicant that should accept whatever is thrown unto it by the imperial Israeli entity.
In any case, it is highly unlikely that the two-state strategy still has any real chance of seeing daylight, given the cancerous metastasis of Jewish settlements all over the Occupied Territories of the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
True, things done can be undone. But Israel, which is intoxicated by characteristic Talmudic insolence, arrogance of power and the absolute domination of American political life, is in no mood to give up occupied land, especially settlements built since 1967 and viewed as the greatest Jewish achievement since King Solomon.
In fact, one doesn't exaggerate much by saying that Israel has effectively decapitated the two-state solution.
But Israel would never say so openly. Its ultimate goal is not to prevent the creation of a Palestinian political entity at any price. Its real aim is the liquidation of the Palestinian cause by cajoling the Palestinians. e.g. the PLO, to accept a "state" bereft of sovereignty, dignity and substance. Needless to say such a solution would be rejected by the vast majority of the Palestinian people especially if it involved the practical relinquishing by the Palestinian leadership of the paramount right of return for millions of Palestinian refugees uprooted from their ancestral homeland at the hands of Jewish-Zionist invaders coming from overseas.
Yes, there are certain Palestinians, probably people like Mahmoud Abbas and his aide Saeb Ureikat, who would make capitulationist arguments such as this: "This is the maximum we can achieve under current circumstances."
But these people, who will also try hard to induce Palestinians to support this national treason by promising them financial rewards and economic prosperity, will eventually be rejected and ejected by the Palestinian masses.
Yes, most Palestinians would probably like to see a dignified settlement of the conflict, one that meets fundamental Palestinian aspirations, including the repatriation of the refugees as well as an Israeli withdrawal from 100% of the West Bank, including East Jerusalem.
However, in Islam, as is the case in other monotheistic religions, one is not licensed to commit fornication if one doesn't possess the dowry he must pay for marriage.
I am not accusing any Palestinian leaders of treason. However, every Palestinian or Arab leader who deviates from our national constants will be a traitor who is entitled to receive a traitor's treatment.
One more point. There are definitive worrying signs that the Ramallah leadership may be trying to accept the effective liquidation of the Palestinian cause under the rubric of the Arab league.
Seeking to justify such perfidy, some PA spokesmen and mouthpieces would argue that "we cannot be more Arab than the Arabs themselves."
Well, but since when were Arab tyrants really qualified or trusted to liberate Palestine from the clutches of Zionism? Indeed, it is a huge insult to common sense to expect charlatan generals like Abdul Fattah Sisi to make a real stand for Palestinian rights when he didn't hesitate for a minute to order his henchmen to open fire on and murder thousands of innocent Egyptians demanding the return to power of the democratically-elected Egyptian president.
Yes, Sisi may be Egypt's defense minister and de facto ruler of the largest Arab nation. However, he is also a tyrant of the cheapest caliber who is shamelessly acting on Israel's beck and call. In short, those who murder their own people in cold blood can't be expected to stand for Palestine. Palestine needs real heroes like Salahuddin, not real traitors like Abdul Fattah al Sisi.
The same principle applies to Arab kings and presidents- for-life who are answerable to Washington and Tel Aviv and who value the legitimacy that comes from American acceptance more than that which comes from their own people's acceptance.
These people are cowards and traitors par excellence and can't be trusted or entrusted to stand for Palestinian rights.
So, the next time President Abbas feels he has to travel to Cairo to consult with Arab tyrants or their puppet foreign ministers, he should keep in mind that we Palestinians, and no one else, have the sole right to determine our cause and destiny.
Yes, Arabs and other Muslims are welcome to support us extricate our rights from Israel's criminal hands.
But they are not and will not be welcome to act as America's and Israel's agents to pressure us to abandon these rights.
Sheikh Ikrima Sabri, preacher of the Aqsa Mosque, condemned the latest US overtures to the Palestinian Authority (PA), stressing that the Israeli occupation is persistent in annexing lands and expanding settlements. In his Friday Khutba (sermon) at the Aqsa Mosque, Sheikh Sabri said that one of the US proposals demands the Palestinian Authority to pay no attention to the issue of settlement construction, which means that Israel's settlements will remain like "cancer in someone's body."
He also denounced the US proposal calling for solving the issue of the Palestinian refugees between the PA and the Arab countries, affirming that such American solution is aimed at liquidating the right of the Palestinians to return to the homes they were expelled from.
Sheikh Sabri stressed that the Palestinian people would never recognize such US solutions and proposals and described them as illegitimate.
The Aqsa Mosque preacher also talked about the violations committed by the Israeli police and Jewish settlers in occupied Jerusalem, especially at the Aqsa Mosque.
He noted that the Israeli police set up lately surveillance cameras inside the Mosque's compound in order to watch the Palestinian worshipers who confront the repeated Jewish attempts to defile their Mosque.
He also denounced the US proposal calling for solving the issue of the Palestinian refugees between the PA and the Arab countries, affirming that such American solution is aimed at liquidating the right of the Palestinians to return to the homes they were expelled from.
Sheikh Sabri stressed that the Palestinian people would never recognize such US solutions and proposals and described them as illegitimate.
The Aqsa Mosque preacher also talked about the violations committed by the Israeli police and Jewish settlers in occupied Jerusalem, especially at the Aqsa Mosque.
He noted that the Israeli police set up lately surveillance cameras inside the Mosque's compound in order to watch the Palestinian worshipers who confront the repeated Jewish attempts to defile their Mosque.
27 dec 2013
Israel has informed the United States that the third group of veteran Palestinian prisoners will be released a day later than originally promised.
Spokeswoman for the US Department of State Jen Psaki said in a statement, "Although we had expected the release to occur on December 29, we have been informed that technical issues made it necessary to do the release a day later."
The Undersecretary of the Palestinian Ministry of Prisoners Ziad Abu Ein told Ma'an that delaying the release one day will ruin the joy of prisoners and their families who await their release.
Abu Ein added that all the preparations to greet them were made for the 29th but will now have to be postponed to December 30.
The news comes a day after Israeli military radio announced that Israel planned to announce the construction of 1,400 new settlement homes in the occupied West Bank to coincide with the prisoner release.
Israel agreed to release 104 veteran Palestinian prisoners who have been in custody since before the 1993 Oslo Accords as part of a plan to resume peace negotiations after talks were halted for more than two years.
The release of two dozen Palestinian prisoners on December 29 is the third part of that four-stage deal, and Israel has already released 52 prisoners in two previous rounds.
The last batch are expected to be released in March 2014.
Direct negotiations began in July between Israel and the Palestinians in a US-led attempt to restart the deadlocked peace process. Israel has announced plans to build thousands of homes in illegal settlements across the West Bank over the course of the talks, inhibiting US efforts.
The Palestinian negotiating team resigned in protest against continued Israeli settlement construction in mid-November, dealing a major blow to negotiations between Israel and the PLO that had already been stalled.
Negotiator Mohammed Shtayyeh told AFP at the time that they resigned in response to "increasing settlement building (by Israel) and the absence of any hope of achieving results," following Netanyahu's announcement that Israel would build 20,000 new settlement homes in the West Bank.
The internationally recognized Palestinian territories of which the West Bank and East Jerusalem form a part have been occupied by the Israeli military since 1967.
Spokeswoman for the US Department of State Jen Psaki said in a statement, "Although we had expected the release to occur on December 29, we have been informed that technical issues made it necessary to do the release a day later."
The Undersecretary of the Palestinian Ministry of Prisoners Ziad Abu Ein told Ma'an that delaying the release one day will ruin the joy of prisoners and their families who await their release.
Abu Ein added that all the preparations to greet them were made for the 29th but will now have to be postponed to December 30.
The news comes a day after Israeli military radio announced that Israel planned to announce the construction of 1,400 new settlement homes in the occupied West Bank to coincide with the prisoner release.
Israel agreed to release 104 veteran Palestinian prisoners who have been in custody since before the 1993 Oslo Accords as part of a plan to resume peace negotiations after talks were halted for more than two years.
The release of two dozen Palestinian prisoners on December 29 is the third part of that four-stage deal, and Israel has already released 52 prisoners in two previous rounds.
The last batch are expected to be released in March 2014.
Direct negotiations began in July between Israel and the Palestinians in a US-led attempt to restart the deadlocked peace process. Israel has announced plans to build thousands of homes in illegal settlements across the West Bank over the course of the talks, inhibiting US efforts.
The Palestinian negotiating team resigned in protest against continued Israeli settlement construction in mid-November, dealing a major blow to negotiations between Israel and the PLO that had already been stalled.
Negotiator Mohammed Shtayyeh told AFP at the time that they resigned in response to "increasing settlement building (by Israel) and the absence of any hope of achieving results," following Netanyahu's announcement that Israel would build 20,000 new settlement homes in the West Bank.
The internationally recognized Palestinian territories of which the West Bank and East Jerusalem form a part have been occupied by the Israeli military since 1967.
Chief Palestinian Authority negotiator Saeb Erekat
Chief Palestinian Authority negotiator has slammed the Israeli regime’s illegal settlement activities, warning that any new plan on settlement construction will torpedo the US-brokered negotiations.
Saeb Ereket told Xinhua news agency on Thursday that the Palestinian Authority “strongly” condemns the Tel Aviv regime’s plans to build new settler units in the occupied West Bank and East al-Quds (Jerusalem).
On December 25, an Israeli official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told the Associated Press that the regime would likely announce plans for construction of new settler units next week.
Israeli media also published reports regarding the announcement of “massive construction” plans by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu next week, with some saying that 1,000 to 2,000 new settlements may be built.
Erekat further said the Palestinian Authority regards the Israeli plan as a blow to the US-mediated Israeli-Palestinian talks.
The Palestinian side will restart efforts to join 63 international organizations including the International Criminal Court (ICC) if Israel announces plans for the construction of more settler homes, Erekat added.
“Those who fear the ICC should stop committing war crimes, including the construction of settlements,” Erekat said in reference to Israel.
Palestinian and Israeli negotiators began a fresh round of talks in July. Previous talks between Palestinians and Israel broke down in September 2010 after Tel Aviv refused to freeze its settlement activities in the occupied West Bank.
Since the resumption of the negotiations, Israel has announced plans for building several thousands of new settler units in the occupied West Bank and East al-Quds.
Chief Palestinian Authority negotiator has slammed the Israeli regime’s illegal settlement activities, warning that any new plan on settlement construction will torpedo the US-brokered negotiations.
Saeb Ereket told Xinhua news agency on Thursday that the Palestinian Authority “strongly” condemns the Tel Aviv regime’s plans to build new settler units in the occupied West Bank and East al-Quds (Jerusalem).
On December 25, an Israeli official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told the Associated Press that the regime would likely announce plans for construction of new settler units next week.
Israeli media also published reports regarding the announcement of “massive construction” plans by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu next week, with some saying that 1,000 to 2,000 new settlements may be built.
Erekat further said the Palestinian Authority regards the Israeli plan as a blow to the US-mediated Israeli-Palestinian talks.
The Palestinian side will restart efforts to join 63 international organizations including the International Criminal Court (ICC) if Israel announces plans for the construction of more settler homes, Erekat added.
“Those who fear the ICC should stop committing war crimes, including the construction of settlements,” Erekat said in reference to Israel.
Palestinian and Israeli negotiators began a fresh round of talks in July. Previous talks between Palestinians and Israel broke down in September 2010 after Tel Aviv refused to freeze its settlement activities in the occupied West Bank.
Since the resumption of the negotiations, Israel has announced plans for building several thousands of new settler units in the occupied West Bank and East al-Quds.
Israel Channel 10 said in a report issued Thursday that the European Union will strongly object to any new announcements of Israeli settlement construction in the West Bank.
A senior EU diplomat told Channel 10, if Israel plans to announce further settlement construction beyond the Green Line next week following the release of a third group of Palestinian security prisoners, there will be harsh reaction from the European governments against it.
Israeli media outlets reported that the announcement will include 600 new settler housing units in Jerusalem and 800 in the settlement blocs. In addition, planning processes will be set in motion for another 1,000 units.
European sources said that Israel will bear responsibility for the failure of negotiations, adding that the EU considers the latest settlement announcement as a factor of instability and tension that leads to lack of confidence on the Palestinian side.
A senior EU diplomat told Channel 10, if Israel plans to announce further settlement construction beyond the Green Line next week following the release of a third group of Palestinian security prisoners, there will be harsh reaction from the European governments against it.
Israeli media outlets reported that the announcement will include 600 new settler housing units in Jerusalem and 800 in the settlement blocs. In addition, planning processes will be set in motion for another 1,000 units.
European sources said that Israel will bear responsibility for the failure of negotiations, adding that the EU considers the latest settlement announcement as a factor of instability and tension that leads to lack of confidence on the Palestinian side.
Israeli Likud MK, Miri Regev, said on Friday that Israel should not accept any US proposals for a peace agreement that provides for the Palestinians to assume control of the Jordan Valley, even if a transitional Israeli security presence is maintained for a limited time, The Jerusalem Post reported.
A day after she submitted a bill to annex the Jordan Valley, Regev told Israel Radio that "Negotiations should be conducted about peace, not about land," adding that this issue stands as a first order of strategic importance.
She added that Israeli law should be applied to settlements in the Jordan Valley, in order for the Israeli government to transmit the message that it will not give up on its security presence in the area.
A day after she submitted a bill to annex the Jordan Valley, Regev told Israel Radio that "Negotiations should be conducted about peace, not about land," adding that this issue stands as a first order of strategic importance.
She added that Israeli law should be applied to settlements in the Jordan Valley, in order for the Israeli government to transmit the message that it will not give up on its security presence in the area.
26 dec 2013
A spokesman of the bureau of President Mahmoud Abbas on Thursday denied a report in Israeli media claiming that Abbas has maintained a secret channel with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu for several years.
Nabil Abu Rdeina was quoted by the Palestinian Authority’s official news agency Wafa as saying there had not been any secret talks between Abbas and Israeli officials.
Israeli daily Yedioth Ahronoth reported Thursday that Netanyahu’s confidant Yitzhak Molcho has been meeting with one of Abbas’ associates in London from time to time.
“This back-channel diplomacy includes an exchange of messages and ideas and is aimed at solving problems troubling both sides,” the report added.
The secret channel, according to Yedioth Ahronoth, was of more significance during Netanyahu’s previous term while there were no official negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians.
“Both Netanyahu and Abbas kept the talks confidential in order to avoid political pressure.”
After both sides resumed direct peace talks brokered by US, the daily reported, the importance of the secret channel diminished “likely prompting Netanyahu to inform some of the Israelis and Americans involved in the talks about the back channel.”
Nabil Abu Rdeina was quoted by the Palestinian Authority’s official news agency Wafa as saying there had not been any secret talks between Abbas and Israeli officials.
Israeli daily Yedioth Ahronoth reported Thursday that Netanyahu’s confidant Yitzhak Molcho has been meeting with one of Abbas’ associates in London from time to time.
“This back-channel diplomacy includes an exchange of messages and ideas and is aimed at solving problems troubling both sides,” the report added.
The secret channel, according to Yedioth Ahronoth, was of more significance during Netanyahu’s previous term while there were no official negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians.
“Both Netanyahu and Abbas kept the talks confidential in order to avoid political pressure.”
After both sides resumed direct peace talks brokered by US, the daily reported, the importance of the secret channel diminished “likely prompting Netanyahu to inform some of the Israelis and Americans involved in the talks about the back channel.”
Retired Israeli judge in Ofer Military Court Adrian Agassi has called on Israeli government to kill Palestinian prisoners instead of releasing them, Tadamun Foundation for Human Rights said. Commenting on Israel's intention to release the third batch of Palestinian prisoners, Agassi said in a TV interview that "terrorists, engaged in murders, should not be brought alive to the court".
Whenever a Palestinian prisoner stood before the court, Israel loses a battle, Agassi said.
He strongly condemned the Israeli government’s decision to release the third batch of Palestinian prisoners. “This government does not care about its citizens. It allows terrorists to live in five star hotels, this revolving door is total insanity”, he continued.
"More than once I stood facing detainees whom I had judged several years earlier. When I reminded them that I judged them in the past, they would respond: yes, but the government released us in an exchange deal," Agassi added.
The retired judge Adrian Agassi is well known for his extremist positions and hatred against Arabs and Palestinians. He used to issue long prison sentences against Palestinian prisoners.
Whenever a Palestinian prisoner stood before the court, Israel loses a battle, Agassi said.
He strongly condemned the Israeli government’s decision to release the third batch of Palestinian prisoners. “This government does not care about its citizens. It allows terrorists to live in five star hotels, this revolving door is total insanity”, he continued.
"More than once I stood facing detainees whom I had judged several years earlier. When I reminded them that I judged them in the past, they would respond: yes, but the government released us in an exchange deal," Agassi added.
The retired judge Adrian Agassi is well known for his extremist positions and hatred against Arabs and Palestinians. He used to issue long prison sentences against Palestinian prisoners.
Israel will announce plans for new settlement construction next week, coinciding with the release of a third batch of Palestinian prisoners as part of peace talks, an official said Thursday.
"The Israeli government will announce tenders for new construction in the West Bank and in East Jerusalem which will coincide with the release of a third group of Palestinian prisoners," the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Two previous rounds of prisoner releases in August and October have been accompanied by Israeli announcements of fresh construction on land the Palestinians want for a future state, provoking Palestinian ire.
Hundreds Of New Settlements To Be Built
Israel will be announcing plans for new settlement construction next week, in conjunction with the release of a third group of Palestinian prisoners as part of peace negotiations, according to an official.
"The Israeli government will announce tenders for new construction in the West Bank and in east Jerusalem which will coincide with the release of a third group of Palestinian prisoners," the official told AFP, on condition of anonymity.
Israeli media has reported that the announcement will involve the construction of 1,400 houses total.
6-700 housing units are to built in the East Jerusalem settlement of Ramat Shlomi, with the remainder to be built in West Bank settlements.
Palestinian officials say that Israeli settlement plans destroy the peace process. The international community has also condemned past construction moves.
More than 500,000 Israelis live in settlements across the West Bank and East Jerusalem, in direct defiance of international law.
The internationally recognized Palestinian territories, of which the West Bank and East Jerusalem form a part, have been occupied by the Israeli military since 1967.
"The Israeli government will announce tenders for new construction in the West Bank and in East Jerusalem which will coincide with the release of a third group of Palestinian prisoners," the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Two previous rounds of prisoner releases in August and October have been accompanied by Israeli announcements of fresh construction on land the Palestinians want for a future state, provoking Palestinian ire.
Hundreds Of New Settlements To Be Built
Israel will be announcing plans for new settlement construction next week, in conjunction with the release of a third group of Palestinian prisoners as part of peace negotiations, according to an official.
"The Israeli government will announce tenders for new construction in the West Bank and in east Jerusalem which will coincide with the release of a third group of Palestinian prisoners," the official told AFP, on condition of anonymity.
Israeli media has reported that the announcement will involve the construction of 1,400 houses total.
6-700 housing units are to built in the East Jerusalem settlement of Ramat Shlomi, with the remainder to be built in West Bank settlements.
Palestinian officials say that Israeli settlement plans destroy the peace process. The international community has also condemned past construction moves.
More than 500,000 Israelis live in settlements across the West Bank and East Jerusalem, in direct defiance of international law.
The internationally recognized Palestinian territories, of which the West Bank and East Jerusalem form a part, have been occupied by the Israeli military since 1967.
25 dec 2013
It is expected that Israel will go ahead and release a group of Palestinian prisoners which have all been jailed since before 1994. The release should take place during next week.
The releases are meant as a confidence-building gesture as a part of the ongoing peace talks the Jerusalem Post reports.
Based on the agreement a total of 104 Palestinians will be released in four groups. 52 have already been taken from prison and 26 more will thus be released during next week.
According to the framework of the deal, all 104 prisoners should be in four batches within a period of nine months.
The releases are meant as a confidence-building gesture as a part of the ongoing peace talks the Jerusalem Post reports.
Based on the agreement a total of 104 Palestinians will be released in four groups. 52 have already been taken from prison and 26 more will thus be released during next week.
According to the framework of the deal, all 104 prisoners should be in four batches within a period of nine months.
American Secretary General John Kerry will be back to the region in January 10 to present a final proposal for the Israeli-Palestinian negotiations, al-Quds newspaper reported. The newspaper said Kerry will be accompanied by a crew of American professionals. They will put the final touches to find a solution for the permanent status negotiations ,including Jerusalem, Palestinian refugees, Israeli settlements, security, which will be accepted by both sides.
American sources said that the American crew is working intensively as they already collected information about every part in the West Bank.
The sources added, ”Kerry and US Peace Envoy Martin Indyk knew that Abbas and Netanyahu have not met for weeks but the two know the nature of the final agreement.
Observers expect US to impose rudimentary framework agreement between the Israeli and the Palestinian sides, under the framework of the negotiations that started months ago.
American sources said that the American crew is working intensively as they already collected information about every part in the West Bank.
The sources added, ”Kerry and US Peace Envoy Martin Indyk knew that Abbas and Netanyahu have not met for weeks but the two know the nature of the final agreement.
Observers expect US to impose rudimentary framework agreement between the Israeli and the Palestinian sides, under the framework of the negotiations that started months ago.