7 jan 2014
Middle East peace talks could be extended beyond their April deadline, Israel's defense minister said Tuesday, insisting current negotiations were aimed solely at providing a framework for final talks.
The remarks came a day after US Secretary of State John Kerry left following four days of intense meetings with Israeli and Palestinian leaders, during which he failed to broker agreement on a framework to guide the talks forward.
"We are now trying to reach a framework to continue negotiations for a period beyond the nine months some thought would suffice for reaching a permanent accord," Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon told reporters during a tour of a military base.
"We are not working on a framework agreement, but on a framework for negotiations, for continuing negotiations for a longer period," Yaalon was quoted as saying in a statement from his office.
Kerry kicked-started nine months of direct peace negotiations in July after a three-year hiatus.
According to Israeli media, Kerry was due back in the region next week.
"What's clear is that there are large gaps, they are not new, but our interest is definitely to continue negotiations and continue to act to stabilize the situation and our relationship with the Palestinians," Yaalon said.
Yaalon, a hawkish member of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's ruling Likud party, said the crux of the conflict was the Palestinians' refusal to recognize Israel as "the nation-state of the Jewish people".
A peace treaty would deal with all the divisive core issues, including the contours of a future Palestinian state, refugees, the fate of Jerusalem claimed by both as a capital, security and mutual recognition.
Meanwhile, Economy Minister Naftali Bennett warned that his far-right Jewish Home party would leave Netanyahu's coalition if Israel cedes territory to the Palestinians and agrees to the creation of a Palestinian state.
"We won't sit in a government that would endanger the future of our children and divide our capital," he said in a speech at the Institute for National Security Studies in Tel Aviv.
But Justice Minister Tzipi Livni, who is also Israel's chief negotiator with the Palestinians, warned that without a peace agreement, "the IDF (Israeli military) will be dragged to international courts".
"We have not reached the stage of an agreement yet," Livni said at a Hebrew university speech in Jerusalem in remarks relayed by her office.
"We are working on a framework to see if there is a basis for further progress," Livni said. "If it (the framework) will be balanced, we can advance and hopefully reach an arrangement."
Israel has so far refused to compromise on the Jordan Valley, which forms a third of the West Bank, and has built thousands of illegal settlements since talks began in July.
On Tuesday, Palestinian National Initiative general-secretary Mustafa Barghouthi said Israel is using negotiations as a cover to continue settlement expansion in the occupied West Bank.
Israel's recent approval of 272 new settlement homes shows the true face of an Israeli government which refuses the idea of Palestinian sovereignty and is only seeking to buy time to impose certain realities on the ground, the independent Palestinian MP said.
Some 350,000 Jewish settlers live in West Bank settlements, in addition to another 200,000 Israelis settled in occupied and annexed East Jerusalem.
The international community considers the colonization of occupied land to be illegal, and the Palestinians have long viewed settlement construction as a key obstacle to reaching a peace agreement.
The remarks came a day after US Secretary of State John Kerry left following four days of intense meetings with Israeli and Palestinian leaders, during which he failed to broker agreement on a framework to guide the talks forward.
"We are now trying to reach a framework to continue negotiations for a period beyond the nine months some thought would suffice for reaching a permanent accord," Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon told reporters during a tour of a military base.
"We are not working on a framework agreement, but on a framework for negotiations, for continuing negotiations for a longer period," Yaalon was quoted as saying in a statement from his office.
Kerry kicked-started nine months of direct peace negotiations in July after a three-year hiatus.
According to Israeli media, Kerry was due back in the region next week.
"What's clear is that there are large gaps, they are not new, but our interest is definitely to continue negotiations and continue to act to stabilize the situation and our relationship with the Palestinians," Yaalon said.
Yaalon, a hawkish member of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's ruling Likud party, said the crux of the conflict was the Palestinians' refusal to recognize Israel as "the nation-state of the Jewish people".
A peace treaty would deal with all the divisive core issues, including the contours of a future Palestinian state, refugees, the fate of Jerusalem claimed by both as a capital, security and mutual recognition.
Meanwhile, Economy Minister Naftali Bennett warned that his far-right Jewish Home party would leave Netanyahu's coalition if Israel cedes territory to the Palestinians and agrees to the creation of a Palestinian state.
"We won't sit in a government that would endanger the future of our children and divide our capital," he said in a speech at the Institute for National Security Studies in Tel Aviv.
But Justice Minister Tzipi Livni, who is also Israel's chief negotiator with the Palestinians, warned that without a peace agreement, "the IDF (Israeli military) will be dragged to international courts".
"We have not reached the stage of an agreement yet," Livni said at a Hebrew university speech in Jerusalem in remarks relayed by her office.
"We are working on a framework to see if there is a basis for further progress," Livni said. "If it (the framework) will be balanced, we can advance and hopefully reach an arrangement."
Israel has so far refused to compromise on the Jordan Valley, which forms a third of the West Bank, and has built thousands of illegal settlements since talks began in July.
On Tuesday, Palestinian National Initiative general-secretary Mustafa Barghouthi said Israel is using negotiations as a cover to continue settlement expansion in the occupied West Bank.
Israel's recent approval of 272 new settlement homes shows the true face of an Israeli government which refuses the idea of Palestinian sovereignty and is only seeking to buy time to impose certain realities on the ground, the independent Palestinian MP said.
Some 350,000 Jewish settlers live in West Bank settlements, in addition to another 200,000 Israelis settled in occupied and annexed East Jerusalem.
The international community considers the colonization of occupied land to be illegal, and the Palestinians have long viewed settlement construction as a key obstacle to reaching a peace agreement.
Hamas leader in the West Bank Wasfi Kabha described the nine ideas proposed by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry in the framework agreement as “much worse than those proposed in Oslo and Camp David 2." Kabha warned, in statements to Quds Press on Tuesday, of the seriousness of tabling these files at the negotiating table.
He stressed that the futile negotiations have given the Israeli occupation authority the opportunity to impose new realities on the ground and to continue committing more crimes against the Palestinian people.
The former minister of prisoners warned that "the continuation of these imbalanced negotiations will never achieve a fully sovereign Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital."
He called upon the Palestinian Authority in Ramallah to end the negotiations that have failed for over twenty years to achieve the people’s freedom, stressing that "the Palestinian people, who refused the Oslo agreement, will not accept something that is worse”.
He stressed that the futile negotiations have given the Israeli occupation authority the opportunity to impose new realities on the ground and to continue committing more crimes against the Palestinian people.
The former minister of prisoners warned that "the continuation of these imbalanced negotiations will never achieve a fully sovereign Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital."
He called upon the Palestinian Authority in Ramallah to end the negotiations that have failed for over twenty years to achieve the people’s freedom, stressing that "the Palestinian people, who refused the Oslo agreement, will not accept something that is worse”.
A general view of apartment blocks under construction in Pisgat Zeev.
Presidential spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeineh on Tuesday condemned Israel's recent announcement to build 272 settler homes in the occupied West Bank.
"Whenever US secretary of state John Kerry intensifies his efforts to push the peace process forward, Israel seeks to destroy these efforts through its decisions and its ongoing settlement activities," Abu Rudeineh said, according to official news agency Wafa.
He also condemned remarks by Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday about maintaining all illegal settlements in Hebron, the largest Palestinian city by population, and Beit El, located just north of Ramallah.
Earlier, Palestinian National Initiative general-secretary Mustafa Barghouthi said Israel is using negotiations as a cover to continue settlement expansion in the occupied West Bank.
Israel's recent approval of 272 new settlement homes shows the true face of an Israeli government which refuses the idea of Palestinian sovereignty and is only seeking to buy time to impose certain realities on the ground, the independent Palestinian MP said.
The proper response to Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu's claims that Hebron and Beit El settlements are a vital part of Israel is through escalating popular resistance, going to the United Nations, and increasing calls for boycott, divestment and sanctions, he added.
Netanyahu told members of his Likud party on Monday that he did not intend to dismantle settlements in the West bank as part of peace talks with the Palestinians, the private Israeli television station Channel 10 reported.
Asked by party hardliners about any possible concessions in the talks, Netanyahu said he would make no "territorial concession" in the Jordan Valley, the occupied West Bank or in annexed East Jerusalem, the station reported.
Kerry left Israel on Monday after his tenth trip to the region since last March, insisting progress had been made despite failing to reach a framework to guide Israeli-Palestinian peace talks.
Presidential spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeineh on Tuesday condemned Israel's recent announcement to build 272 settler homes in the occupied West Bank.
"Whenever US secretary of state John Kerry intensifies his efforts to push the peace process forward, Israel seeks to destroy these efforts through its decisions and its ongoing settlement activities," Abu Rudeineh said, according to official news agency Wafa.
He also condemned remarks by Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday about maintaining all illegal settlements in Hebron, the largest Palestinian city by population, and Beit El, located just north of Ramallah.
Earlier, Palestinian National Initiative general-secretary Mustafa Barghouthi said Israel is using negotiations as a cover to continue settlement expansion in the occupied West Bank.
Israel's recent approval of 272 new settlement homes shows the true face of an Israeli government which refuses the idea of Palestinian sovereignty and is only seeking to buy time to impose certain realities on the ground, the independent Palestinian MP said.
The proper response to Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu's claims that Hebron and Beit El settlements are a vital part of Israel is through escalating popular resistance, going to the United Nations, and increasing calls for boycott, divestment and sanctions, he added.
Netanyahu told members of his Likud party on Monday that he did not intend to dismantle settlements in the West bank as part of peace talks with the Palestinians, the private Israeli television station Channel 10 reported.
Asked by party hardliners about any possible concessions in the talks, Netanyahu said he would make no "territorial concession" in the Jordan Valley, the occupied West Bank or in annexed East Jerusalem, the station reported.
Kerry left Israel on Monday after his tenth trip to the region since last March, insisting progress had been made despite failing to reach a framework to guide Israeli-Palestinian peace talks.
Israeli District Committee revealed that the Israeli government is speeding up approval process of 1,935 settlement units in Ras Shuafat, north of occupied Jerusalem, to expand Ramat Shlomo settlement. The Committee stated on Monday that the bids for these settlement units have already been discussed, and that the government intends to build the units near the yeshiva and the synagogue in the settlement to serve the school's students and teachers and the synagogue.
For its part, the Israeli Channel 7 reported that the Israeli Minister of Housing Uri Ariel has endorsed the building of more units in Ramat Shlomo, on the lands of the villages of Shuafat and Beit Hanina north of Jerusalem, in an attempt to expand the settlement.
The Channel reported that the ministry has issued bids to build 387 settlement units in Ramat Shlomo.
It confirmed that the government has implemented 9 settlement plans during the past three years, and intends to build 1,790 settlement units in the foothills of mountains north of Jerusalem.
Meanwhile, the Israeli occupation authority approved a plan for 272 new settlement units in West Bank and occupied Jerusalem.
Israel's Peace Now movement said in a statement that the construction includes 250 houses in Ofra and 22 in Karnei Shomron.
"A government seeking a two-state solution will not worsen the conflict by building in the settlements, especially those with no chance of remaining under Israeli sovereignty", the group said.
It added that Ofra and Karnei Shomron are "both isolated settlements in the heart of the West Bank."
Some 350,000 Jewish settlers live in West Bank settlements; in addition to 200,000 other Israelis who have settled in occupied east Jerusalem.
For its part, the Israeli Channel 7 reported that the Israeli Minister of Housing Uri Ariel has endorsed the building of more units in Ramat Shlomo, on the lands of the villages of Shuafat and Beit Hanina north of Jerusalem, in an attempt to expand the settlement.
The Channel reported that the ministry has issued bids to build 387 settlement units in Ramat Shlomo.
It confirmed that the government has implemented 9 settlement plans during the past three years, and intends to build 1,790 settlement units in the foothills of mountains north of Jerusalem.
Meanwhile, the Israeli occupation authority approved a plan for 272 new settlement units in West Bank and occupied Jerusalem.
Israel's Peace Now movement said in a statement that the construction includes 250 houses in Ofra and 22 in Karnei Shomron.
"A government seeking a two-state solution will not worsen the conflict by building in the settlements, especially those with no chance of remaining under Israeli sovereignty", the group said.
It added that Ofra and Karnei Shomron are "both isolated settlements in the heart of the West Bank."
Some 350,000 Jewish settlers live in West Bank settlements; in addition to 200,000 other Israelis who have settled in occupied east Jerusalem.
Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said on Monday that he will not give up any settlements in an agreement, as they are considered an integral part of the Israeli State and that he disagrees about the annexation of the West Bank stating that “ I don't want to control 1.5-2 million Palestinians and neither do most Israelis.”
Netanyahu was addressed during a session with the Right-wing MKs about the latest developments, especially the peace talks with the Palestinians during the latest meeting with the US Secretary of State John Kerry in his last visit to the Middle East.
Netanyahu confessed that the negotiations have entered a critical stage, adding that difficult decisions might be taken at any moment.
Netanyahu said that he doesn’t want a bilateral state nor an Iranian, stressing that he will reject any proposal of giving Palestinians an Israeli ID, according to the Land swap plan that was proposed during negotiations.
In a related context, this Monday Israel has approved the construction of 272 new settler units in the occupied West Bank.
The Israeli Civil Authorization has authorized the construction of 250 new settler units which will be built within the Ofra settlement and 22 settler units that will be built in Karnei Shomron in the West Bank.
Anti-settlement group Peace Now criticized Israel's latest move, saying Tel Aviv had the option of suspending settlement plans and giving the so-called peace talks between the Israelis and the Palestinian Authority (PA) a chance, but instead chose to push ahead with the expansion of settlements, Jerusalem Post reported.
This latest announcement regarding the new settlement construction plans, came shortly after US Secretary of State John Kerry concluded his Middle East tour on Monday in an attempt to advance the peace talks.
Netanyahu was addressed during a session with the Right-wing MKs about the latest developments, especially the peace talks with the Palestinians during the latest meeting with the US Secretary of State John Kerry in his last visit to the Middle East.
Netanyahu confessed that the negotiations have entered a critical stage, adding that difficult decisions might be taken at any moment.
Netanyahu said that he doesn’t want a bilateral state nor an Iranian, stressing that he will reject any proposal of giving Palestinians an Israeli ID, according to the Land swap plan that was proposed during negotiations.
In a related context, this Monday Israel has approved the construction of 272 new settler units in the occupied West Bank.
The Israeli Civil Authorization has authorized the construction of 250 new settler units which will be built within the Ofra settlement and 22 settler units that will be built in Karnei Shomron in the West Bank.
Anti-settlement group Peace Now criticized Israel's latest move, saying Tel Aviv had the option of suspending settlement plans and giving the so-called peace talks between the Israelis and the Palestinian Authority (PA) a chance, but instead chose to push ahead with the expansion of settlements, Jerusalem Post reported.
This latest announcement regarding the new settlement construction plans, came shortly after US Secretary of State John Kerry concluded his Middle East tour on Monday in an attempt to advance the peace talks.
Israel's leaders must drop their narratives of fear and rejection, and embrace President Abbas and his government as true partners for peace.
Don’t delude yourselves,” Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon said recently to three Israeli members of our group, Breaking the Impasse: “We don’t have a partner on the Palestinian side for a two-state solution.”
Hearing this brought to mind a conversation I had 30 years ago with Yitzhak Rabin. It was during the Israeli invasion of Lebanon, and in Tel Aviv hundreds of thousands of Israelis took to the streets protesting a war designed to drive Yasser Arafat and the PLO out of Beirut and which directly or indirectly led to the deaths of thousands of innocent Lebanese and Palestinians.
It was early 1983. I told Rabin over the phone that if he wanted an end to the wars between our peoples, he would have to sit down and negotiate with Arafat and the PLO. “No way,” he declared. “I will never sit down with him.” For Rabin at that time, neither Arafat nor the PLO would ever be partners for peace. I told him he was wrong. Ten years later, when Arafat introduced me in person to Prime Minister Rabin during a conference in Casablanca, Morocco after the signing of the Oslo Accords in the White House Rose Garden, Rabin smiled wryly and said to me in a low voice, “Just don’t say I told you so.”
Many other Israeli leaders and citizens have gone through the same process of change, realizing in the end that the Israeli and Palestinian leaderships have no choice but to come to a fair compromise that will allow our peoples to share a peaceful, prosperous future. I have no doubt that the present Israeli government will likewise come to see in our president, Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen) and his government reliable partners in peace.
My optimism is based on the simple fact that Abu Mazen, like Arafat before him, has already made the most painful decision any national leader can be asked to make by stating unambiguously his willingness to accept 22 percent of historic Palestine as the price of peace. Moreover, the Palestinian leadership has embraced the Arab Peace Initiative because it regards the two-state solution to be the beginning of a new, open, collaborative relationship with Israel that will bring incalculable benefits to our peoples and the region.
There are, of course, some Israelis who will always find reasons to deny that Palestinians can be their partners - because they claim our territory for the unending expansion of Jewish settlements. Ya’alon, in addition, argues that an independent Palestinian state could become a staging ground for radical Islamists to attack Israel. Even if Abu Mazen is sincere in his desire for peace, Ya’alon seems to think, there is no guarantee that his successors will not turn Palestine into a launchpad for attacks aimed at Israel.
Using scenarios of fear to continue caging Palestinians into bantustans will only deepen the animosity between our peoples and guarantee there will be no end to fear, conflict and death on both sides. It would be facile to deny the dangers inherent in solving a conflict as old and complex as ours. But as a founder of 'Breaking the Impasse', a group of Palestinian and Israeli businesspeople who represent more than 30 percent of the gross domestic product of both countries, I can say unequivocally that the only way for Israelis to ensure a prosperous future for themselves is to help Palestinians build an open, free state of their own, and this starts with a political, and not economic, resolution of two states based on the 1967 borders with Jerusalem as a shared capital.
And this is no dream. For nearly 60 years I have worked in the Middle East, Africa and Asia, and have watched post-colonial nations lift themselves out of poverty and political immaturity. We all know the essential ingredients in building a functioning state. A state must control its own borders. A state must also have the rule of law and must give free space for industry and civil society to prosper.
When Oslo began there were 50,000 phone lines in the West Bank and Gaza. In the past 20 years Palestinian telecommunications companies have grown the market to reach 500,000 fixed lines, 3.5 million mobile subscribers and broad Internet coverage. We Palestinians will continue building our country, and we are extending our hands in partnership to our future neighbors. Israel has a choice: instead of being boycotted and shunned, it can instead be welcomed as a friend, neighbor, visitor and trading partner from Marrakesh to Jakarta. Just give us our freedom.
I am confident that Ya’alon will look into the future and conclude that it is much better to prevent disaster through cooperation than to ensure disaster through fear and continued occupation. I truly believe that in 2014 he and the other members of the Israeli government will shake the hand of President Mahmoud Abbas, and once he does I promise not to say, “I told you so.”
The writer is a prominent Palestinian businessman who supports numerous Palestinian education and welfare initiatives and is dedicated to advancing the cause of peace.
This article was originally printed in Haaretz
Don’t delude yourselves,” Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon said recently to three Israeli members of our group, Breaking the Impasse: “We don’t have a partner on the Palestinian side for a two-state solution.”
Hearing this brought to mind a conversation I had 30 years ago with Yitzhak Rabin. It was during the Israeli invasion of Lebanon, and in Tel Aviv hundreds of thousands of Israelis took to the streets protesting a war designed to drive Yasser Arafat and the PLO out of Beirut and which directly or indirectly led to the deaths of thousands of innocent Lebanese and Palestinians.
It was early 1983. I told Rabin over the phone that if he wanted an end to the wars between our peoples, he would have to sit down and negotiate with Arafat and the PLO. “No way,” he declared. “I will never sit down with him.” For Rabin at that time, neither Arafat nor the PLO would ever be partners for peace. I told him he was wrong. Ten years later, when Arafat introduced me in person to Prime Minister Rabin during a conference in Casablanca, Morocco after the signing of the Oslo Accords in the White House Rose Garden, Rabin smiled wryly and said to me in a low voice, “Just don’t say I told you so.”
Many other Israeli leaders and citizens have gone through the same process of change, realizing in the end that the Israeli and Palestinian leaderships have no choice but to come to a fair compromise that will allow our peoples to share a peaceful, prosperous future. I have no doubt that the present Israeli government will likewise come to see in our president, Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen) and his government reliable partners in peace.
My optimism is based on the simple fact that Abu Mazen, like Arafat before him, has already made the most painful decision any national leader can be asked to make by stating unambiguously his willingness to accept 22 percent of historic Palestine as the price of peace. Moreover, the Palestinian leadership has embraced the Arab Peace Initiative because it regards the two-state solution to be the beginning of a new, open, collaborative relationship with Israel that will bring incalculable benefits to our peoples and the region.
There are, of course, some Israelis who will always find reasons to deny that Palestinians can be their partners - because they claim our territory for the unending expansion of Jewish settlements. Ya’alon, in addition, argues that an independent Palestinian state could become a staging ground for radical Islamists to attack Israel. Even if Abu Mazen is sincere in his desire for peace, Ya’alon seems to think, there is no guarantee that his successors will not turn Palestine into a launchpad for attacks aimed at Israel.
Using scenarios of fear to continue caging Palestinians into bantustans will only deepen the animosity between our peoples and guarantee there will be no end to fear, conflict and death on both sides. It would be facile to deny the dangers inherent in solving a conflict as old and complex as ours. But as a founder of 'Breaking the Impasse', a group of Palestinian and Israeli businesspeople who represent more than 30 percent of the gross domestic product of both countries, I can say unequivocally that the only way for Israelis to ensure a prosperous future for themselves is to help Palestinians build an open, free state of their own, and this starts with a political, and not economic, resolution of two states based on the 1967 borders with Jerusalem as a shared capital.
And this is no dream. For nearly 60 years I have worked in the Middle East, Africa and Asia, and have watched post-colonial nations lift themselves out of poverty and political immaturity. We all know the essential ingredients in building a functioning state. A state must control its own borders. A state must also have the rule of law and must give free space for industry and civil society to prosper.
When Oslo began there were 50,000 phone lines in the West Bank and Gaza. In the past 20 years Palestinian telecommunications companies have grown the market to reach 500,000 fixed lines, 3.5 million mobile subscribers and broad Internet coverage. We Palestinians will continue building our country, and we are extending our hands in partnership to our future neighbors. Israel has a choice: instead of being boycotted and shunned, it can instead be welcomed as a friend, neighbor, visitor and trading partner from Marrakesh to Jakarta. Just give us our freedom.
I am confident that Ya’alon will look into the future and conclude that it is much better to prevent disaster through cooperation than to ensure disaster through fear and continued occupation. I truly believe that in 2014 he and the other members of the Israeli government will shake the hand of President Mahmoud Abbas, and once he does I promise not to say, “I told you so.”
The writer is a prominent Palestinian businessman who supports numerous Palestinian education and welfare initiatives and is dedicated to advancing the cause of peace.
This article was originally printed in Haaretz
The Hashemite kingdom affirmed its refusal of any Israeli domination over the Jordan Valley or any solution that doesn’t consistent with its interests, media sources reported. “We don’t accept any arrangement the Palestinians don’t agree on and prevent the Palestinian domination on their lands,” the Jordanian foreign minister Naser Jodah said in a statement to the Jordanian TV.
Jodah mentioned that 1.2 million Palestinian lived in Jordan as Jordanian citizens therefore “Jordan is responsible for its interests in the area.”
He added that “our interests must be respected and we will not accept any solution that we have no clear idea about it.”
The minister said that Palestine must have “recognized boarders”.
The future of the Jordan Valley, a large agricultural area in the West Bank which Israel wants to keep under its military control after any future peace agreement, has emerged as a big irritant in the five-month-old talks.
Israel infuriated the Palestinians when a ministerial legislative committee approved a bill to annex the area, where a string of Israeli settlements established after the Six-Day war in 1967 stretches along the Jordanian frontier.
The Israeli occupation has defied numerous international demands to stop its expansionist policy in the occupied territories and continued illegal construction of settlements in West Bank and East al-Quds.
Jodah mentioned that 1.2 million Palestinian lived in Jordan as Jordanian citizens therefore “Jordan is responsible for its interests in the area.”
He added that “our interests must be respected and we will not accept any solution that we have no clear idea about it.”
The minister said that Palestine must have “recognized boarders”.
The future of the Jordan Valley, a large agricultural area in the West Bank which Israel wants to keep under its military control after any future peace agreement, has emerged as a big irritant in the five-month-old talks.
Israel infuriated the Palestinians when a ministerial legislative committee approved a bill to annex the area, where a string of Israeli settlements established after the Six-Day war in 1967 stretches along the Jordanian frontier.
The Israeli occupation has defied numerous international demands to stop its expansionist policy in the occupied territories and continued illegal construction of settlements in West Bank and East al-Quds.
Israeli Peace Now Movement revealed Monday that Israel is planning the construction of 272 units in illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, and that the decision was made as U.S. Secretary of State was leaving the country following separate meetings with Israeli and Palestinian officials.
Peace Now said that Tel Aviv is planning to build 250 units in the Ofra illegal settlement, and 22 units in Karnei Shomron illegal settlement.
The official approval was made on Sunday, while an official document at the webpage of the Israeli Military Administration said the construction could start soon.
Peace Now said that Israel is not seeking a two-state solution with the Palestinians, and that by insisting on settlement construction and expansion, Tel Aviv is just placing obstacles to peace, especially since the two settlements are in the heart of the West Bank.
The Israeli government said that the project was first presented in October of last year.
An Israeli official of the Ministry of Defense said that the announcement that came Sunday is only part of a four-stage plan before constructions can start, and that concluding all paperwork “could require several months.”
On Monday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told the Parliamentary Committee of his Likud Party that he does not intend to dismantle settlements in the West Bank.
Netanyahu also said that Israel would not provide what he called “concessions” in peace talks with the Palestinians, and will never withdraw from the occupied Jordan Valley, Jerusalem, and various parts of the West Bank.
U.S. Secretary of State, John Kerry, said before leaving the Middle East on Monday following four days of extensive talks with Israeli, Palestinian and Arab officials, that he was unable to convince Israel and the Palestinians to accept his proposed peace plan.
Kerry did not denounce Israel’s illegal settlement construction and expansion activities, but only repeated previous statements saying, “The US considers settlements to be illegitimate”.
The US continues to grant Israeli billions of Dollars in direct and indirect annual financial and military support, and is not observed as a fair mediator in direct peace talks due to its special ties with Tel Aviv.
It is worth mentioning that there are more than 350.000 Israeli settlers living in illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank, in addition to more than 200.000 settlers living in and around occupied East Jerusalem.
Peace Now said that Tel Aviv is planning to build 250 units in the Ofra illegal settlement, and 22 units in Karnei Shomron illegal settlement.
The official approval was made on Sunday, while an official document at the webpage of the Israeli Military Administration said the construction could start soon.
Peace Now said that Israel is not seeking a two-state solution with the Palestinians, and that by insisting on settlement construction and expansion, Tel Aviv is just placing obstacles to peace, especially since the two settlements are in the heart of the West Bank.
The Israeli government said that the project was first presented in October of last year.
An Israeli official of the Ministry of Defense said that the announcement that came Sunday is only part of a four-stage plan before constructions can start, and that concluding all paperwork “could require several months.”
On Monday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told the Parliamentary Committee of his Likud Party that he does not intend to dismantle settlements in the West Bank.
Netanyahu also said that Israel would not provide what he called “concessions” in peace talks with the Palestinians, and will never withdraw from the occupied Jordan Valley, Jerusalem, and various parts of the West Bank.
U.S. Secretary of State, John Kerry, said before leaving the Middle East on Monday following four days of extensive talks with Israeli, Palestinian and Arab officials, that he was unable to convince Israel and the Palestinians to accept his proposed peace plan.
Kerry did not denounce Israel’s illegal settlement construction and expansion activities, but only repeated previous statements saying, “The US considers settlements to be illegitimate”.
The US continues to grant Israeli billions of Dollars in direct and indirect annual financial and military support, and is not observed as a fair mediator in direct peace talks due to its special ties with Tel Aviv.
It is worth mentioning that there are more than 350.000 Israeli settlers living in illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank, in addition to more than 200.000 settlers living in and around occupied East Jerusalem.
6 jan 2014
Palestinian lawmaker Samira Halaiqa said that the Oslo accords had achieved nothing for the Palestinian people and did not fulfil their aspiration for an independent state, affirming that the Palestinian people do not need another Oslo agreement. "The Palestinian Authority and its negotiators have to put an end to their pack of lies which they use to deceive their citizens, and Kerry has to declare clearly his plan to Judaize what has remained of the Palestinian decision-making," Halaiqa stated in press remarks to Quds Press on Sunday.
"Did Oslo protect the security and safety of the Palestinian citizen who has become exposed to killing day and night inside the PA-controlled territories and in the presence of its security?" the lawmaker questioned.
"Did it provide protection for the Palestinian lands which fall, according to Oslo within the jurisdiction of the PA and under its control? Did it protect the constants, including the right of refugees to return and the issue of borders?" she added.
Halaiqa also criticized Kerry's shuttle diplomacy and said that his visits would bring nothing for the Palestinians regarding Jerusalem, their holy sites, the right of return and the borders of their state.
"We believe that Kerry has come to barter the Palestinian people's rights and constants for more settlements, prisoners and land annexation," she emphasized.
"Did Oslo protect the security and safety of the Palestinian citizen who has become exposed to killing day and night inside the PA-controlled territories and in the presence of its security?" the lawmaker questioned.
"Did it provide protection for the Palestinian lands which fall, according to Oslo within the jurisdiction of the PA and under its control? Did it protect the constants, including the right of refugees to return and the issue of borders?" she added.
Halaiqa also criticized Kerry's shuttle diplomacy and said that his visits would bring nothing for the Palestinians regarding Jerusalem, their holy sites, the right of return and the borders of their state.
"We believe that Kerry has come to barter the Palestinian people's rights and constants for more settlements, prisoners and land annexation," she emphasized.
US Secretary of State John Kerry is on his way home today, after four days of intense diplomacy, insisting that progress has been made and despite the failure of any framework peace agreement to be reached during Israeli-Palestinian talks.
Ma'an News Agency reports that, during his tour, Kerry spent hours locked in separate meetings with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. He also payed a surprise visit to Jordan and Saudi Arabia.
Saudi Arabia authored a peace plan, in 2002, which forms the basis of Arab aspirations for any settlement with Israel. The plan proposed a normalization of relations between Israel and the entire Arab world, in return for a withdrawal from all occupied Arab lands and justice to be implemented over the Palestinian refugee crisis.
The plan has been mostly ignored by Israeli officials and, since talks began, Israel has issued plans for thousands of illegal settlements.
Palestinians, meanwhile, have been adamant in their refusal to recognize Israel as a "Jewish state", and remain steadfast in their opposition to the stationing of Israeli troops in the Jordan Valley, which forms a third of the West Bank.
Israeli media said that Kerry would be returning to the region next week.
Ma'an News Agency reports that, during his tour, Kerry spent hours locked in separate meetings with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. He also payed a surprise visit to Jordan and Saudi Arabia.
Saudi Arabia authored a peace plan, in 2002, which forms the basis of Arab aspirations for any settlement with Israel. The plan proposed a normalization of relations between Israel and the entire Arab world, in return for a withdrawal from all occupied Arab lands and justice to be implemented over the Palestinian refugee crisis.
The plan has been mostly ignored by Israeli officials and, since talks began, Israel has issued plans for thousands of illegal settlements.
Palestinians, meanwhile, have been adamant in their refusal to recognize Israel as a "Jewish state", and remain steadfast in their opposition to the stationing of Israeli troops in the Jordan Valley, which forms a third of the West Bank.
Israeli media said that Kerry would be returning to the region next week.
Well-informed Israeli political sources close to the Israeli-Palestinian peace talks said that the negotiations will be extended one more year. The sources told Hebrew newspaper “Maariv” Monday morning that Israelis concern about extending the negotiations for a year and that they are “ready to give a certain price” for this extension, as Israel is expected to extend the freeze of building plans in part of the Israeli colonial settlements in the West Bank.
The newspaper said U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry practiced pressure on the Israeli occupation prime minister to accept his proposal that requires the return of part of Palestinian refugees to pre-1948 Palestine in return for Palestinian recognition of Israel as a Jewish state, where Kerry thinks that he could convince Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas to accept the proposal, that Netanyahu rejected.
“Kerry attempts to have the two parties to sign on a paper to be a framework for the negotiations that allow the extension of the current negotiations,” The newspaper added.
The U.S. Secretary of State, John Kerry returned to “the Israeli entity” coming from Saudi Arabia for a new round of talks between the Israeli and Palestinian leaderships.
The newspaper said U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry practiced pressure on the Israeli occupation prime minister to accept his proposal that requires the return of part of Palestinian refugees to pre-1948 Palestine in return for Palestinian recognition of Israel as a Jewish state, where Kerry thinks that he could convince Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas to accept the proposal, that Netanyahu rejected.
“Kerry attempts to have the two parties to sign on a paper to be a framework for the negotiations that allow the extension of the current negotiations,” The newspaper added.
The U.S. Secretary of State, John Kerry returned to “the Israeli entity” coming from Saudi Arabia for a new round of talks between the Israeli and Palestinian leaderships.
Khalil Tufkaji, director of the mapping department of the Arab studies society in occupied Jerusalem, said that the project of "greater Jerusalem" as a capital for two states, which was proposed by US secretary of state John Kerry constitutes 10 percent of the West Bank area. Tufkaji told Quds Press that Kerry's proposal of greater Jerusalem is a previous Zionist project.
He said that this greater Jerusalem, according to Kerry, would extend from Gush Etzion settlement units in southern Bethlehem to the settlement of Ma'aleh Adumim in east Jerusalem and the settlement of Givat Ze'ev in the northern part of the holy city as well as to Palestinian villages and towns near Bethlehem.
The mapping expert noted that the Palestinians have only 13 percent of Jerusalem area, which makes up 1.2 percent of the total area of the West Bank after the Israeli occupation regime had seized 87 percent of east Jerusalem.
He affirmed that there are 200,000 Jewish settlers living in east Jerusalem, which the Palestinians claim as a capital of their future state.
Kerry had tabled during his last meeting with de facto president Mahmoud Abbas a proposal calling for making greater Jerusalem a capital for Israel and Palestine in the framework of a solution to the conflict, but the Palestinian Authority refused the US overture, according to statements by some Palestinian officials in Ramallah.
He said that this greater Jerusalem, according to Kerry, would extend from Gush Etzion settlement units in southern Bethlehem to the settlement of Ma'aleh Adumim in east Jerusalem and the settlement of Givat Ze'ev in the northern part of the holy city as well as to Palestinian villages and towns near Bethlehem.
The mapping expert noted that the Palestinians have only 13 percent of Jerusalem area, which makes up 1.2 percent of the total area of the West Bank after the Israeli occupation regime had seized 87 percent of east Jerusalem.
He affirmed that there are 200,000 Jewish settlers living in east Jerusalem, which the Palestinians claim as a capital of their future state.
Kerry had tabled during his last meeting with de facto president Mahmoud Abbas a proposal calling for making greater Jerusalem a capital for Israel and Palestine in the framework of a solution to the conflict, but the Palestinian Authority refused the US overture, according to statements by some Palestinian officials in Ramallah.
5 jan 2014
Jerusalem municipality workers accompanied by Israeli police on Sunday issued demolition orders for houses, shops, storage buildings, and a sports field in the Silwan area of East Jerusalem, residents said.
The orders were for buildings in the neighborhoods of Wadi al-Hilweh, Wad Yasoul, Bir Ayub, Ein al-Lawza, al-Abbassiya, and Ras al-Amoud.
Resident Dawoud Siyam said that demolition orders in Beir Ayub were hung on a large building that has been standing since 1814, which currently houses four different shops.
He added that orders were posted on a shed that was built in 2002, and that each notice was accompanied by a 15-shekel fine.
In Wadi al-Hilweh, a demolition order was hung on 850-meter sports field which was build in 2002, locals said. Notices were also hung on four buildings on the field.
Jawad Siyam, the director of Wadi al-Hilweh information center, said he was also handed a demolition order for his house, which was built in 1952.
Additionally, Israeli authorities handed Khalid al-Zeer a demolition order for his home in al-Abassiya neighborhood.
Al-Zeer said he built the home for his seven-member family after their house was demolished in August last year. He said an Israeli judge granted him permission to build the new home.
Israeli forces also handed demolition orders to three houses and a cattle ranch in the neighborhoods of Wad Yasoul, Ein al-Lawza, and Ras al-Amoud, locals said.
A spokesman for Israel's Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories -- the unit within Israel's Ministry of Defense that heads up home demolitions -- did not immediately return calls or emails seeking comment.
In October, Israeli municipality officials issued demolition orders for the homes of over 15,000 Palestinians in the East Jerusalem neighborhoods of Ras Khamis and Ras Shahada. The buildings have yet to be demolished.
Israel destroyed more than 500 Palestinian properties in the West Bank and East Jerusalem in 2013, displacing over 850 people, according to UN figures.
Israel rarely grants Palestinians permits to build in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. It has demolished at least 27,000 Palestinian homes and structures since occupying the West Bank in 1967, according to the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions.
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 orders were for buildings in the neighborhoods of Wadi al-Hilweh, Wad Yasoul, Bir Ayub, Ein al-Lawza, al-Abbassiya, and Ras al-Amoud.
Resident Dawoud Siyam said that demolition orders in Beir Ayub were hung on a large building that has been standing since 1814, which currently houses four different shops.
He added that orders were posted on a shed that was built in 2002, and that each notice was accompanied by a 15-shekel fine.
In Wadi al-Hilweh, a demolition order was hung on 850-meter sports field which was build in 2002, locals said. Notices were also hung on four buildings on the field.
Jawad Siyam, the director of Wadi al-Hilweh information center, said he was also handed a demolition order for his house, which was built in 1952.
Additionally, Israeli authorities handed Khalid al-Zeer a demolition order for his home in al-Abassiya neighborhood.
Al-Zeer said he built the home for his seven-member family after their house was demolished in August last year. He said an Israeli judge granted him permission to build the new home.
Israeli forces also handed demolition orders to three houses and a cattle ranch in the neighborhoods of Wad Yasoul, Ein al-Lawza, and Ras al-Amoud, locals said.
A spokesman for Israel's Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories -- the unit within Israel's Ministry of Defense that heads up home demolitions -- did not immediately return calls or emails seeking comment.
In October, Israeli municipality officials issued demolition orders for the homes of over 15,000 Palestinians in the East Jerusalem neighborhoods of Ras Khamis and Ras Shahada. The buildings have yet to be demolished.
Israel destroyed more than 500 Palestinian properties in the West Bank and East Jerusalem in 2013, displacing over 850 people, according to UN figures.
Israel rarely grants Palestinians permits to build in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. It has demolished at least 27,000 Palestinian homes and structures since occupying the West Bank in 1967, according to the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions.
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.
Hamas leader Dr. Salah Bardawil warned that US secretary of state John Kerry's plan to push forward the Israeli-Palestinian negotiations aims to liquidate the Palestinian cause. Bardawil noted in remarks to Quds Press that Kerry's plan involves canceling the right of 6 million Palestinian refugees to return to their homeland.
He added: "Kerry's plan also aims to end the file of Jerusalem, which will be practically under the Israeli control," noting that it recognizes the settlements and approves the displacement of Palestinians from the 1948 territories.
The senior Hamas official called upon the Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas to refuse to be a bridge towards the liquidation of the Palestinian cause, and said: "The Palestinian resistance is aware of the seriousness of such a plan and will not allow or accept it."
He added: "Kerry's plan also aims to end the file of Jerusalem, which will be practically under the Israeli control," noting that it recognizes the settlements and approves the displacement of Palestinians from the 1948 territories.
The senior Hamas official called upon the Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas to refuse to be a bridge towards the liquidation of the Palestinian cause, and said: "The Palestinian resistance is aware of the seriousness of such a plan and will not allow or accept it."
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Israeli settlers began leveling a large tract of land in central Hebron in preparation for the construction of a new Jewish settlement outpost in the beleaguered southern West Bank city on Sunday.
Israeli settlers escorted a bulldozer which uprooted fifty-year-old trees in the Tel Rumeida neighborhood near the city center, near an existing extremist right wing Israeli settlement. A Palestinian source told Ma'an that the Israeli liaison department notified the Palestinian side that Israeli authorities would do earthwork in the area for two months. This notification, added the source, suggests that Israelis plan to establish a new settlement outpost near the old one known as "Ramat Yashi." |
Spokesman for the Hebron activist group Youth Against Settlements Issa Amr highlighted that a mobile home was placed in the area after it was leveled by bulldozers.
This means a new outpost is being built, he added.
The land which was leveled was leased by the Abu Heikal family in 1949 from the Jordanian government's Custodian of Enemy Property, Abu Heikal told Ma'an in a phone call.
A new lease was signed after Israel occupied the West Bank in 1967, with the Israeli government's Custodian of Absentee Property, added Abu Heikal. In 1981, the Custodian of Absentee Property refused to take the rent fees, but in 2000 the family reached an agreement with the Israelis and paid for the years 1981-2000.
In 2001 and 2002, he added, the Israelis continued to take rent fees and after that they refused them again and announced the land a closed military zone denying the Palestinians access to it, despite his long-standing lease over the area. A fence was also built around the land.
Amr Issa said that the Israeli Civil Administration had rented the plot of land to Israeli settlers in a lease which came into effect on Jan. 1, 2014.
500 Israeli settlers live in the Old City of Hebron, many of whom have illegally occupied Palestinian houses and forcibly removed the original inhabitants. They are protected by thousands of Israeli forces.
Settlers and Israeli forces regularly target locals in the overwhelmingly Palestinian city for harassment, and many have been forced from their homes as a result.
A 1997 agreement split Hebron into areas of Palestinian and Israeli control.
The Israeli military-controlled H2 zone includes the ancient Old City, home of the revered Ibrahimi Mosque -- also split into a synagogue referred to as the Tomb of the Patriarchs -- and the once thriving Shuhada street, now just shuttered shops fronts and closed homes.
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.
This means a new outpost is being built, he added.
The land which was leveled was leased by the Abu Heikal family in 1949 from the Jordanian government's Custodian of Enemy Property, Abu Heikal told Ma'an in a phone call.
A new lease was signed after Israel occupied the West Bank in 1967, with the Israeli government's Custodian of Absentee Property, added Abu Heikal. In 1981, the Custodian of Absentee Property refused to take the rent fees, but in 2000 the family reached an agreement with the Israelis and paid for the years 1981-2000.
In 2001 and 2002, he added, the Israelis continued to take rent fees and after that they refused them again and announced the land a closed military zone denying the Palestinians access to it, despite his long-standing lease over the area. A fence was also built around the land.
Amr Issa said that the Israeli Civil Administration had rented the plot of land to Israeli settlers in a lease which came into effect on Jan. 1, 2014.
500 Israeli settlers live in the Old City of Hebron, many of whom have illegally occupied Palestinian houses and forcibly removed the original inhabitants. They are protected by thousands of Israeli forces.
Settlers and Israeli forces regularly target locals in the overwhelmingly Palestinian city for harassment, and many have been forced from their homes as a result.
A 1997 agreement split Hebron into areas of Palestinian and Israeli control.
The Israeli military-controlled H2 zone includes the ancient Old City, home of the revered Ibrahimi Mosque -- also split into a synagogue referred to as the Tomb of the Patriarchs -- and the once thriving Shuhada street, now just shuttered shops fronts and closed homes.
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.
Lieberman: 'Not one' Palestinian can return to Israel in any peace deal
Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said Sunday that he would not support any peace agreement that does not include the exchange of Israeli Arab land and population, calling that demand a "basic condition" that he has already clarified to the international community, Israeli daily, Harretz reported.
"When I talk about land and population exchange, I mean the Triangle and Wadi Ara," Lieberman said. "This is not a transfer. Nobody will be expelled or banished, but the border will move to the other side of Route 6."
"I will not support any peace deal that will allow the return of even one Palestinian refugee to Israel," he said. "Because if we leave the right of return, all pressure will be on this subject."
"When there is a Palestinian state, it will absorb hundreds of thousands of refugees from Syria and Lebanon, because these states will simply expel all of these refugees," he added.
Lieberman told the diplomats that U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry's proposal to push forward peace talks was the best offer Israel could possibly receive. "Every alternative offer we will get from the international community will not be better than Kerry's offer," he said.
Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said Sunday that he would not support any peace agreement that does not include the exchange of Israeli Arab land and population, calling that demand a "basic condition" that he has already clarified to the international community, Israeli daily, Harretz reported.
"When I talk about land and population exchange, I mean the Triangle and Wadi Ara," Lieberman said. "This is not a transfer. Nobody will be expelled or banished, but the border will move to the other side of Route 6."
"I will not support any peace deal that will allow the return of even one Palestinian refugee to Israel," he said. "Because if we leave the right of return, all pressure will be on this subject."
"When there is a Palestinian state, it will absorb hundreds of thousands of refugees from Syria and Lebanon, because these states will simply expel all of these refugees," he added.
Lieberman told the diplomats that U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry's proposal to push forward peace talks was the best offer Israel could possibly receive. "Every alternative offer we will get from the international community will not be better than Kerry's offer," he said.
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Israel rejects any US-proposed security concessions for the Jordan Valley, a cabinet member close to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday, as US Secretary John Kerry visited the Middle East.
"Security must remain in our hands. Anyone who proposes a solution in the Jordan Valley by deploying an international force, Palestinian police or technological means ... does not understand the Middle East," Intelligence Minister Yuval Steinitz told Israeli public radio. Steinitz's comments came after three days of intense shuttle diplomacy by Kerry, who was trying to push a framework for final status talks between Israel and the Palestinians. |
With a late April deadline looming for the negotiations that he kick-started in July after a three-year hiatus, Kerry has pledged to work even more intensively in the coming months.
US officials have refused to release any details of the proposed framework, and Kerry acknowledged it would not be agreed during this trip.
Palestinian hopes of having an international force brought in to help patrol the Jordan Valley under a peace deal had been sidelined, a Palestinian source told AFP Saturday.
Instead the US was proposing a mixed Israeli-Palestinian military presence to ensure security in the area, without setting a deadline when the Israeli troops would be withdrawn.
But Israel insists on maintaining a long-term military presence in the Jordan Valley.
Kerry has said a peace treaty will deal with all the core issues dividing the two sides. These include the contours of a future Palestinian state, refugees, the fate of Jerusalem claimed by both as a capital, security, and mutual recognition.
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.
Former Mossad chief: Jordan Valley not vital to Israel's security
The Jordan Valley is not "essential" for Israel's security, a former director of Israel's spy agency Mossad said on Friday.
Meir Dagan told a crowd of Israelis in Kfar Saba in central Israel on Friday that the issue of the Jordan Valley is a purely political issue, according to the Hebrew language daily newspaper Maariv.
"I don't like the ongoing argument about the Jordan Valley as an essential element to the security of Israel. This is manipulation and utilization of security considerations," he is reported to have said.
There is no Iraqi army, and we have a peace agreement with Jordan, so there is no threat on the eastern front, Dagan added.
Dagan highlighted that he was giving his personal opinion which he could not "prove definitively."
During the speech, Dagan also said that he believes Israel is not interested in toppling Hamas.
"I don't have a proof to what I will say now, but I have an impression that Israel is not interested in ousting Hamas, for a simple reason: I see that Egypt is exerting serious efforts to weaken Hamas, and I see that Gulf countries and Saudis are also exerting such efforts, while the state of Israel isn't taking part in such efforts."
"If I would talk about suspicions, I will say that someone could have in mind to avoid signing an agreement at the last moment. They will say, wait a minute! Who am I signing with? Am I signing agreement with (Palestinian Authority president) Abu Mazen? But he has an entity called Hamas, and with Hamas I can't sign!"
The statements come amid intense political negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority regarding the Jordan Valley.
Although the valley is a large part of the occupied West Bank, Israel has insisted that even if the Palestinians are granted independence as part of a future peace agreement, it plans to maintain a military presence.
Earlier this week, a parliamentary committee Israeli legislators voted to back a bill to extend Israeli sovereignty over the Jordan Valley. Although unlikely to pass, the support for the symbolic move towards annexation reflects opposition towards peace negotiations with Palestinians.
The majority of the Jordan Valley is currently under full Israeli military control, despite being within the occupied Palestinian West Bank.
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.
US officials have refused to release any details of the proposed framework, and Kerry acknowledged it would not be agreed during this trip.
Palestinian hopes of having an international force brought in to help patrol the Jordan Valley under a peace deal had been sidelined, a Palestinian source told AFP Saturday.
Instead the US was proposing a mixed Israeli-Palestinian military presence to ensure security in the area, without setting a deadline when the Israeli troops would be withdrawn.
But Israel insists on maintaining a long-term military presence in the Jordan Valley.
Kerry has said a peace treaty will deal with all the core issues dividing the two sides. These include the contours of a future Palestinian state, refugees, the fate of Jerusalem claimed by both as a capital, security, and mutual recognition.
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.
Former Mossad chief: Jordan Valley not vital to Israel's security
The Jordan Valley is not "essential" for Israel's security, a former director of Israel's spy agency Mossad said on Friday.
Meir Dagan told a crowd of Israelis in Kfar Saba in central Israel on Friday that the issue of the Jordan Valley is a purely political issue, according to the Hebrew language daily newspaper Maariv.
"I don't like the ongoing argument about the Jordan Valley as an essential element to the security of Israel. This is manipulation and utilization of security considerations," he is reported to have said.
There is no Iraqi army, and we have a peace agreement with Jordan, so there is no threat on the eastern front, Dagan added.
Dagan highlighted that he was giving his personal opinion which he could not "prove definitively."
During the speech, Dagan also said that he believes Israel is not interested in toppling Hamas.
"I don't have a proof to what I will say now, but I have an impression that Israel is not interested in ousting Hamas, for a simple reason: I see that Egypt is exerting serious efforts to weaken Hamas, and I see that Gulf countries and Saudis are also exerting such efforts, while the state of Israel isn't taking part in such efforts."
"If I would talk about suspicions, I will say that someone could have in mind to avoid signing an agreement at the last moment. They will say, wait a minute! Who am I signing with? Am I signing agreement with (Palestinian Authority president) Abu Mazen? But he has an entity called Hamas, and with Hamas I can't sign!"
The statements come amid intense political negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority regarding the Jordan Valley.
Although the valley is a large part of the occupied West Bank, Israel has insisted that even if the Palestinians are granted independence as part of a future peace agreement, it plans to maintain a military presence.
Earlier this week, a parliamentary committee Israeli legislators voted to back a bill to extend Israeli sovereignty over the Jordan Valley. Although unlikely to pass, the support for the symbolic move towards annexation reflects opposition towards peace negotiations with Palestinians.
The majority of the Jordan Valley is currently under full Israeli military control, despite being within the occupied Palestinian West Bank.
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.
The Jordanian society for the return of refugees (Aidoun) expressed its great concern over media leaks talking about understandings between the Palestinian Authority, Israel and the US regarding the future of the Palestinian refugees, warning of tampering with the Palestinian right of return. "The society follows with deep concern what has been reported by some media outlets about transitional agreements and framework understandings on the future of the Palestinian refugees as the most important part of the cause," the Jordanian society said in a press release on Saturday.
"The media leaks about the possibility of reaching a transitional framework agreement giving a priority for recognizing the Zionist entity as a Jewish state, and talks about retaining major settlement blocs, swapping lands and staying conditionally in the Jordan Valley, with reference to the possibility of resolving the issue of refugees in their whereabouts in the future despite the great suffering they are enduring in several places… all this raises reasonable fears and concerns among the masses of refugees who make up more than two thirds of the Palestinian people at home and abroad, and gives cause for caution," the society emphasized.
The Jordanian society highlighted that the right of return is inalienable and cannot be waived by anyone regardless of his position because it is a collective right.
"The media leaks about the possibility of reaching a transitional framework agreement giving a priority for recognizing the Zionist entity as a Jewish state, and talks about retaining major settlement blocs, swapping lands and staying conditionally in the Jordan Valley, with reference to the possibility of resolving the issue of refugees in their whereabouts in the future despite the great suffering they are enduring in several places… all this raises reasonable fears and concerns among the masses of refugees who make up more than two thirds of the Palestinian people at home and abroad, and gives cause for caution," the society emphasized.
The Jordanian society highlighted that the right of return is inalienable and cannot be waived by anyone regardless of his position because it is a collective right.
Member of the Executive Committee of the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO), Dr. Saeb Erekat, said that U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry held a meeting with President Mahmoud Abbas, and presented certain ideas, not initiatives, to advance direct political talks.
The Abbas-Kerry meeting, the twenty-first meeting since February 2013, took place on Saturday evening.
“We are trying our best to boost talks, to achieve the two-state solution”, Erekat said, “But we cannot accept transitional solutions, or endless negotiations”.
Erekat also said that ending the illegal Israeli occupation of Palestine, and the establishment of a contiguous and sovereign state, with East Jerusalem as its capitol, is a top priority for the Palestinians.
The Palestinian official further stated that Kerry only presented ideas for a solution, and is discussing those ideas in separate meetings with Israeli and Palestinian officials.
Erekat added that Kerry will be back in the Middle East, in the coming days, in order to separately discuss the obstacles which are hindering the progress of political talks between Tel Aviv and Ramallah.
“We still have a very long and hard road ahead”, Erekat said, “We told Kerry Israel needs to stop its settlement activities, stop the arrests, the destruction of homes and property, the illegal annexation of the Jordan Valley, and various issues that are impacting political talks”.
The official concluded by stating that, "as President Abbas said, we are conducting maximum efforts to ensure the success of talks".
He added that “a successful resolution means ending the Israeli occupation, and establishing an independent, sovereign and viable Palestinian State, with East Jerusalem as its capitol.”
There are numerous obstacles hindering the success of political talks between Ramallah and Tel Aviv, mainly Israel’s ongoing and illegal construction and expansion of its settlements in the occupied West Bank, and in occupied Jerusalem, its illegal Apartheid Wall which separates the Palestinians from each other and their lands, in addition to Israel’s ongoing invasions and arrests.
Tel Aviv also insists on maintaining its control over the Jordan Valley, borders, and all natural resources, and refuses to recognize the internationally guaranteed Right of Return of all displaced refugees.
The Abbas-Kerry meeting, the twenty-first meeting since February 2013, took place on Saturday evening.
“We are trying our best to boost talks, to achieve the two-state solution”, Erekat said, “But we cannot accept transitional solutions, or endless negotiations”.
Erekat also said that ending the illegal Israeli occupation of Palestine, and the establishment of a contiguous and sovereign state, with East Jerusalem as its capitol, is a top priority for the Palestinians.
The Palestinian official further stated that Kerry only presented ideas for a solution, and is discussing those ideas in separate meetings with Israeli and Palestinian officials.
Erekat added that Kerry will be back in the Middle East, in the coming days, in order to separately discuss the obstacles which are hindering the progress of political talks between Tel Aviv and Ramallah.
“We still have a very long and hard road ahead”, Erekat said, “We told Kerry Israel needs to stop its settlement activities, stop the arrests, the destruction of homes and property, the illegal annexation of the Jordan Valley, and various issues that are impacting political talks”.
The official concluded by stating that, "as President Abbas said, we are conducting maximum efforts to ensure the success of talks".
He added that “a successful resolution means ending the Israeli occupation, and establishing an independent, sovereign and viable Palestinian State, with East Jerusalem as its capitol.”
There are numerous obstacles hindering the success of political talks between Ramallah and Tel Aviv, mainly Israel’s ongoing and illegal construction and expansion of its settlements in the occupied West Bank, and in occupied Jerusalem, its illegal Apartheid Wall which separates the Palestinians from each other and their lands, in addition to Israel’s ongoing invasions and arrests.
Tel Aviv also insists on maintaining its control over the Jordan Valley, borders, and all natural resources, and refuses to recognize the internationally guaranteed Right of Return of all displaced refugees.
