31 mar 2014
The Obama administration is reportedly considering freeing spy Jonathan Pollard in return for concessions from the Israeli government.
If it happens, it certainly would be a bold move. The release of Pollard, who was arrested in November 1985 after passing secret documents to Israel while working as a civilian analyst for the U.S. Navy, would mark a reversal of decades of official U.S. policy.
It could also, however, be a key step forward for Middle East peace negotiations.
Why is Israel so keen to have Pollard released? And why would the United States change its mind now?
Pollard's case is a remarkable one for many reasons. A Jewish American, Pollard is reported to have felt an extreme loyalty to the Israeli state. He was working as a research analyst at the Navy’s Field Operations Intelligence Office, specifically the Threat Analysis Division in the office’s Anti-Terrorist Alert Center, when he was recruited by Israel in the summer of 1984.
According to an Associated Press report from the time, Pollard was paid around $50,000 for his leaks, and he expected to eventually earn more than 10 times that amount. His leaks eventually caught the attention of colleagues, who notified the FBI, and he was arrested while trying to request asylum at the Israeli Embassy in Washington. (His attempts were rebuffed.)
Pollard was sentenced to life for one count of espionage in 1987.
Why Israel wants him free
To his supporters in Israel and those elsewhere, there are a number of key factors in the case that support releasing Pollard. For one thing, while Pollard has admitted he handed over a huge amount of documents to Israel, he has argued that he did it out of an idealistic loyalty to Israel (an American ally, of course), not malice, and that the information was about Arab states, Pakistan and the Soviet Union, not the United States.
A Web site dedicated to documenting his case for supporters argues that Pollard was simply breaking past an informal embargo that some U.S. officials had put on sharing intelligence with Israel. Another argument was made in a recent legal analysis published in the Jerusalem Post that found Pollard's sentencing was too harsh, pointing out that Pollard had cooperated with the investigation and accepted a plea deal in which the prosecution did not ask for a life sentence. (The judge in the case ordered it anyway.) Mordechai Kremnitzer, a vice president of research at the Israel Democracy Institute, also pointed out that other Americans convicted of spying had received far more lenient sentences.
For some Israelis, the idea that a Jewish American could be sentenced so harshly for service to Israel is horrifying, and there have been a number of campaigns to free Pollard. Pollard was granted Israeli citizenship in 1995 after a request from his lawyer, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has played a specific role in support for Pollard, admitting in 1998 that Pollard was an Israeli source (though it has also been denied) and visiting him in prison in 2002 while Netanyahu was not in office.
Why the U.S. doesn't want him free
Many in the U.S. intelligence community feel strongly that Pollard should not be released: In 1998, George J. Tenet, then director of the CIA, apparently scuppered a deal with Israel on Pollard by threatening to resign if the spy went free.
There have been a number of arguments that Pollard's spying was actually far more damaging than others care to admit. For example, in 1999 Seymour Hersh wrote an article for the New Yorker that argued Pollard's information may have ended up with the Soviet Union. Hersh spoke to experts who said the information was used:
... in exchange for continued Soviet permission for Jews to emigrate to Israel. Other officials go further, and say that there was reason to believe that secret information was exchanged for Jews working in highly sensitive positions in the Soviet Union. A significant percentage of Pollard’s documents, including some that described the techniques the American Navy used to track Soviet submarines around the world, was of practical importance to the Soviet Union.
In an op-ed for The Washington Post written in 1998, former past directors of naval intelligence, William Studeman, Sumner Shapiro, John L. Butts and Thomas Brooks, argued that as Pollard's case never went to trial (due to his plea deal), it never became public that Pollard "offered classified information to three other countries before working for the Israelis and that he offered his services to a fourth country while he was spying for Israel." The op-ed also argued that the "sheer volume" of documents passed on by Pollard was almost unrivaled, and his support was only due to a "clever public relations campaign."
Even now, while his supporters portray Pollard as an ideologue, other critics in the United States point to reports of his drug abuse and history of grandiose lies. A year ago, Bret Stephens of the Wall Street Journal minced no words when he argued that Pollard's release is, in fact, not in Israel's interests:
It does not help Israel to make a hero of a compulsive liar and braggart, fond of cocaine, who violated his oaths, spied on his country, inflicted damage that took billions of dollars to repair, accepted payment for his spying, jeopardized Israel's relationship with its closest ally, failed to show remorse at the time of his sentencing, made himself into Exhibit A of every anti-Semitic conspiracy nut, and then had the chutzpah to call himself a martyr to the Jewish people.
What's happening now (and what might happen next)
Over the past few years, the Israeli campaign to release Pollard has gained momentum, with Netanyahu expressing official support, a number of petitions, and protests outside the U.S. Embassy in Tel Aviv. President Obama has so far refused to contemplate releasing Pollard and has refused to grant him leave for family emergencies. "As the president," Obama told Israeli television before visiting the country last year, "my first obligation is to observe the law here in the United States and to make sure that it's applied consistently."
However, there have been some signs of a shifting position on Pollard, who is now 59 and said to be in poor health. Some people you might not expect, such as Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz), have publicly called for his release. His situation has been complicated by the leaks of Chelsea Manning and Edward Snowden, the latter of whom provided a document that reportedly revealed the NSA may have targeted Netanyahu himself.
The biggest factor now, however, is the Middle East peace process that Secretary of State John F. Kerry launched eight months ago. The hope appears to be that if the United States agreed to released Pollard, Israel might agree to release some of a large number of Palestinian prisoners or impose a moratorium on new building in disputed territories, key sticking points for the Palestinian negotiators.
Such a move -- the release of a criminal charged in American courts in exchange for concessions from another country -- would be exceptional for the United States, and it likely reflects a moment of crisis in the talks. There is another factor to keep in mind, however: currently Pollard will be eligible for release in November 2015, as he will have served 30 years of his sentence.
See also: A small selection of the very negative things U.S. officials have said about Jonathan Pollard
If it happens, it certainly would be a bold move. The release of Pollard, who was arrested in November 1985 after passing secret documents to Israel while working as a civilian analyst for the U.S. Navy, would mark a reversal of decades of official U.S. policy.
It could also, however, be a key step forward for Middle East peace negotiations.
Why is Israel so keen to have Pollard released? And why would the United States change its mind now?
Pollard's case is a remarkable one for many reasons. A Jewish American, Pollard is reported to have felt an extreme loyalty to the Israeli state. He was working as a research analyst at the Navy’s Field Operations Intelligence Office, specifically the Threat Analysis Division in the office’s Anti-Terrorist Alert Center, when he was recruited by Israel in the summer of 1984.
According to an Associated Press report from the time, Pollard was paid around $50,000 for his leaks, and he expected to eventually earn more than 10 times that amount. His leaks eventually caught the attention of colleagues, who notified the FBI, and he was arrested while trying to request asylum at the Israeli Embassy in Washington. (His attempts were rebuffed.)
Pollard was sentenced to life for one count of espionage in 1987.
Why Israel wants him free
To his supporters in Israel and those elsewhere, there are a number of key factors in the case that support releasing Pollard. For one thing, while Pollard has admitted he handed over a huge amount of documents to Israel, he has argued that he did it out of an idealistic loyalty to Israel (an American ally, of course), not malice, and that the information was about Arab states, Pakistan and the Soviet Union, not the United States.
A Web site dedicated to documenting his case for supporters argues that Pollard was simply breaking past an informal embargo that some U.S. officials had put on sharing intelligence with Israel. Another argument was made in a recent legal analysis published in the Jerusalem Post that found Pollard's sentencing was too harsh, pointing out that Pollard had cooperated with the investigation and accepted a plea deal in which the prosecution did not ask for a life sentence. (The judge in the case ordered it anyway.) Mordechai Kremnitzer, a vice president of research at the Israel Democracy Institute, also pointed out that other Americans convicted of spying had received far more lenient sentences.
For some Israelis, the idea that a Jewish American could be sentenced so harshly for service to Israel is horrifying, and there have been a number of campaigns to free Pollard. Pollard was granted Israeli citizenship in 1995 after a request from his lawyer, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has played a specific role in support for Pollard, admitting in 1998 that Pollard was an Israeli source (though it has also been denied) and visiting him in prison in 2002 while Netanyahu was not in office.
Why the U.S. doesn't want him free
Many in the U.S. intelligence community feel strongly that Pollard should not be released: In 1998, George J. Tenet, then director of the CIA, apparently scuppered a deal with Israel on Pollard by threatening to resign if the spy went free.
There have been a number of arguments that Pollard's spying was actually far more damaging than others care to admit. For example, in 1999 Seymour Hersh wrote an article for the New Yorker that argued Pollard's information may have ended up with the Soviet Union. Hersh spoke to experts who said the information was used:
... in exchange for continued Soviet permission for Jews to emigrate to Israel. Other officials go further, and say that there was reason to believe that secret information was exchanged for Jews working in highly sensitive positions in the Soviet Union. A significant percentage of Pollard’s documents, including some that described the techniques the American Navy used to track Soviet submarines around the world, was of practical importance to the Soviet Union.
In an op-ed for The Washington Post written in 1998, former past directors of naval intelligence, William Studeman, Sumner Shapiro, John L. Butts and Thomas Brooks, argued that as Pollard's case never went to trial (due to his plea deal), it never became public that Pollard "offered classified information to three other countries before working for the Israelis and that he offered his services to a fourth country while he was spying for Israel." The op-ed also argued that the "sheer volume" of documents passed on by Pollard was almost unrivaled, and his support was only due to a "clever public relations campaign."
Even now, while his supporters portray Pollard as an ideologue, other critics in the United States point to reports of his drug abuse and history of grandiose lies. A year ago, Bret Stephens of the Wall Street Journal minced no words when he argued that Pollard's release is, in fact, not in Israel's interests:
It does not help Israel to make a hero of a compulsive liar and braggart, fond of cocaine, who violated his oaths, spied on his country, inflicted damage that took billions of dollars to repair, accepted payment for his spying, jeopardized Israel's relationship with its closest ally, failed to show remorse at the time of his sentencing, made himself into Exhibit A of every anti-Semitic conspiracy nut, and then had the chutzpah to call himself a martyr to the Jewish people.
What's happening now (and what might happen next)
Over the past few years, the Israeli campaign to release Pollard has gained momentum, with Netanyahu expressing official support, a number of petitions, and protests outside the U.S. Embassy in Tel Aviv. President Obama has so far refused to contemplate releasing Pollard and has refused to grant him leave for family emergencies. "As the president," Obama told Israeli television before visiting the country last year, "my first obligation is to observe the law here in the United States and to make sure that it's applied consistently."
However, there have been some signs of a shifting position on Pollard, who is now 59 and said to be in poor health. Some people you might not expect, such as Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz), have publicly called for his release. His situation has been complicated by the leaks of Chelsea Manning and Edward Snowden, the latter of whom provided a document that reportedly revealed the NSA may have targeted Netanyahu himself.
The biggest factor now, however, is the Middle East peace process that Secretary of State John F. Kerry launched eight months ago. The hope appears to be that if the United States agreed to released Pollard, Israel might agree to release some of a large number of Palestinian prisoners or impose a moratorium on new building in disputed territories, key sticking points for the Palestinian negotiators.
Such a move -- the release of a criminal charged in American courts in exchange for concessions from another country -- would be exceptional for the United States, and it likely reflects a moment of crisis in the talks. There is another factor to keep in mind, however: currently Pollard will be eligible for release in November 2015, as he will have served 30 years of his sentence.
See also: A small selection of the very negative things U.S. officials have said about Jonathan Pollard
Jordan's King Abdullah II held talks on Monday with Israeli opposition leader Isaac Herzog on the Middle East peace process, a palace statement said.
"The king and the head of the Labor Party and member of the Knesset Isaac Herzog discussed efforts to achieve peace between Israel and the Palestinians under the sponsorship of the United States," the palace said without elaborating.
Herzog's visit to Jordan came as the United States is struggling to find a formula that would enable Israel and the Palestinians to continue faltering peace talks beyond an April 29 deadline.
US Secretary of State John Kerry last week visited Jordan, where he held seperate talks with the king and President Mahmoud Abbas.
Kerry was heading back to the region Monday, a US official said, adding that he would land in Tel Aviv and would possibly hold meetings in Jerusalem and Ramallah.
On Sunday Israel handed the Palestinians a proposal they hope will lead to an extension of their peace talks.
Jordan signed a peace treaty with Israel in 1994.
"The king and the head of the Labor Party and member of the Knesset Isaac Herzog discussed efforts to achieve peace between Israel and the Palestinians under the sponsorship of the United States," the palace said without elaborating.
Herzog's visit to Jordan came as the United States is struggling to find a formula that would enable Israel and the Palestinians to continue faltering peace talks beyond an April 29 deadline.
US Secretary of State John Kerry last week visited Jordan, where he held seperate talks with the king and President Mahmoud Abbas.
Kerry was heading back to the region Monday, a US official said, adding that he would land in Tel Aviv and would possibly hold meetings in Jerusalem and Ramallah.
On Sunday Israel handed the Palestinians a proposal they hope will lead to an extension of their peace talks.
Jordan signed a peace treaty with Israel in 1994.
Abla Sa'adat, wife of the Secretary-General of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine Ahmed Sa'adat, said that her husband refuses to be released in a conditional deal with the occupation. In an exclusive interview with the Palestinian Information Center, Um Ghassan quoted her husband as telling her during her last visit in Gilboa prison that he refuses his release in conditional negotiations.
“I refuse my freedom in return for few meters of historical Palestine while allowing the expansion of settlement construction”, she quoted her husband as saying.
Sa'adat's statements came following PA Minister of Prisoners' Affairs Issa Qaraqe's conference in which he said that the negotiations process is related to the release of Marwan Barghouthi and Ahmed Sa'adat and all Palestinian MPs in addition to sick detainees.
On the other hand, Sa'adat's wife denounced PA escalated policy of political arrests against various Palestinian political factions, calling on the Palestinian Authority not to stray from the main essence of the Palestinian cause.
She pointed out that her husband has been arrested four times in PA jails most recently was in 2000 when he served four years.
She confirmed her husband's total rejection to the current negotiation process between Palestinian and Israeli authorities and the negotiation path as a whole, stressing that it is a collective position in the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine and among the Palestinian people and factions. The negotiation process only represents a cover to Israeli crimes against Palestinian people, she added.
After being a non-member state at the UN, Sa'adat has called on PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas to internationalize the Palestinian cause in international institution and forums, she added.
She said that her husband spent 4 years in PA jails and 8 years behind Israeli bars including 3 years in solitary confinement, deprived of family visits. Following the Dignity hunger strike, she was allowed and only her son Ghassan to visit him for carrying Jerusalemite identity cards.
In his letters to his family, Ahmad Sa'adat has always stressed the importance of Palestinian reconciliation, saying that it is the only path to resist the occupation.
He also called for internationalizing prisoners' issue at international forums to shed light on their plight, particularly detained patients and children.
Um Ghassan said that her husband is being transferred from one prison to another in short periods due to his constant struggle and influence, and important national role in Israeli prisons.
She concluded by calling on the Palestinian people not to stand idle and to activate resistance option as the sole path to liberate Palestinian detainees and lands.
“I refuse my freedom in return for few meters of historical Palestine while allowing the expansion of settlement construction”, she quoted her husband as saying.
Sa'adat's statements came following PA Minister of Prisoners' Affairs Issa Qaraqe's conference in which he said that the negotiations process is related to the release of Marwan Barghouthi and Ahmed Sa'adat and all Palestinian MPs in addition to sick detainees.
On the other hand, Sa'adat's wife denounced PA escalated policy of political arrests against various Palestinian political factions, calling on the Palestinian Authority not to stray from the main essence of the Palestinian cause.
She pointed out that her husband has been arrested four times in PA jails most recently was in 2000 when he served four years.
She confirmed her husband's total rejection to the current negotiation process between Palestinian and Israeli authorities and the negotiation path as a whole, stressing that it is a collective position in the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine and among the Palestinian people and factions. The negotiation process only represents a cover to Israeli crimes against Palestinian people, she added.
After being a non-member state at the UN, Sa'adat has called on PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas to internationalize the Palestinian cause in international institution and forums, she added.
She said that her husband spent 4 years in PA jails and 8 years behind Israeli bars including 3 years in solitary confinement, deprived of family visits. Following the Dignity hunger strike, she was allowed and only her son Ghassan to visit him for carrying Jerusalemite identity cards.
In his letters to his family, Ahmad Sa'adat has always stressed the importance of Palestinian reconciliation, saying that it is the only path to resist the occupation.
He also called for internationalizing prisoners' issue at international forums to shed light on their plight, particularly detained patients and children.
Um Ghassan said that her husband is being transferred from one prison to another in short periods due to his constant struggle and influence, and important national role in Israeli prisons.
She concluded by calling on the Palestinian people not to stand idle and to activate resistance option as the sole path to liberate Palestinian detainees and lands.
The Aqsa Foundation for Endowment and Heritage said that the Israeli Occupation Authorities (IOA) approved on Sunday the establishment of an Israeli synagogue in the Old City of occupied Jerusalem. The foundation said that this Judaization project is only 200 meters away from al-Aqsa Mosque. It comprises four floors in addition to an underground floor.
AFEH said that approximately 100 synagogues and Jewish schools were established in the Old City of Jerusalem.
The foundation pointed out that this project came as part of Israeli plans to Judaize the whole Old City during the next 20 years, stressing that Jerusalemites' steadfastness would foil such schemes.
The statement added that the Israeli authorities took advantage of these religious buildings in order to cover up its Judaization and settlement schemes.
The Aqsa Foundation said that the establishment of Jewish synagogues aims to intensify Israeli break-ins into al-Aqsa Mosque especially that they provide crowds of extremists who call for the destruction of the holy mosque and the displacement of Palestinians.
It charged that the Israeli authorities have deliberately surrounded al-Aqsa Mosque with these synagogues as a prelude to take control over it.
The Aqsa Foundation has warned of the seriousness of this Judaization scheme that aims to falsify history and give alleged right to Jews in the area.
AFEH said that approximately 100 synagogues and Jewish schools were established in the Old City of Jerusalem.
The foundation pointed out that this project came as part of Israeli plans to Judaize the whole Old City during the next 20 years, stressing that Jerusalemites' steadfastness would foil such schemes.
The statement added that the Israeli authorities took advantage of these religious buildings in order to cover up its Judaization and settlement schemes.
The Aqsa Foundation said that the establishment of Jewish synagogues aims to intensify Israeli break-ins into al-Aqsa Mosque especially that they provide crowds of extremists who call for the destruction of the holy mosque and the displacement of Palestinians.
It charged that the Israeli authorities have deliberately surrounded al-Aqsa Mosque with these synagogues as a prelude to take control over it.
The Aqsa Foundation has warned of the seriousness of this Judaization scheme that aims to falsify history and give alleged right to Jews in the area.
President Mahmoud Abbas met with Fatah officials Monday to discuss the latest developments in peace negotiations with Israel, a Fatah official said Monday.
Fatah Executive Committee member Wasel Abu Yousef told Ma'an that the meeting would be comprised of 40 Fatah officials and members.
The speech was to focus partly on a PLO response to Israel's failure to release a fourth batch of Palestinian veteran prisoners, Abu Yousef said.
He personally ruled out the extension of peace talks past the April 29 deadline, but said Abbas had not mentioned the issue in a speech on Sunday.
US Secretary of State John Kerry, who cut short his Paris visit in an attempt to salvage talks, is scheduled to meet with Abbas Monday evening, Abu Yousef said.
Israel was scheduled to release the final group of prisoners on Saturday, but did not.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday that debate with the PLO over the prisoner release could go on for "a number of days," the Israeli newspaper Jerusalem Post reported on its website.
Netanyahu said at a meeting with members of his right-wing Likud party that prisoners would not be freed "without a clear benefit for Israel in return," the report said.
So far, 78 of a total of 104 veteran Palestinian prisoners have been freed in three separate tranches.
Peace talks between Israelis and Palestinians were relaunched in July under the auspices of the US after nearly three years of impasse.
Israel's government has announced the construction of thousands of settler housing units and its army has killed 60 Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza since the negotiations began.
Fatah Executive Committee member Wasel Abu Yousef told Ma'an that the meeting would be comprised of 40 Fatah officials and members.
The speech was to focus partly on a PLO response to Israel's failure to release a fourth batch of Palestinian veteran prisoners, Abu Yousef said.
He personally ruled out the extension of peace talks past the April 29 deadline, but said Abbas had not mentioned the issue in a speech on Sunday.
US Secretary of State John Kerry, who cut short his Paris visit in an attempt to salvage talks, is scheduled to meet with Abbas Monday evening, Abu Yousef said.
Israel was scheduled to release the final group of prisoners on Saturday, but did not.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday that debate with the PLO over the prisoner release could go on for "a number of days," the Israeli newspaper Jerusalem Post reported on its website.
Netanyahu said at a meeting with members of his right-wing Likud party that prisoners would not be freed "without a clear benefit for Israel in return," the report said.
So far, 78 of a total of 104 veteran Palestinian prisoners have been freed in three separate tranches.
Peace talks between Israelis and Palestinians were relaunched in July under the auspices of the US after nearly three years of impasse.
Israel's government has announced the construction of thousands of settler housing units and its army has killed 60 Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza since the negotiations began.
The PLO rejected an Israeli proposal for extending negotiations on Monday as Washington's top diplomat was due to fly in on his latest mission to salvage the crisis-hit peace talks.
Shortly after US Secretary of State John Kerry took off from Paris for an unscheduled visit to Israel-Palestine, a Palestinian official confirmed that Ramallah had rejected an Israeli offer to extend talks beyond an April 29 deadline.
US peace efforts are teetering on the brink of collapse after Israel refused to free a group of 26 veteran Palestinian prisoners under an agreement which brought the sides back to the negotiating table in July 2013.
Speaking in Paris, a senior US official said Kerry would possibly hold meetings in Jerusalem and the West Bank town of Ramallah over Monday and Tuesday.
Kerry's arrival in Tel Aviv is likely to coincide with a 7:00 p.m. meeting of the Palestinian leadership in Ramallah which was called by president Mahmoud Abbas to discuss the latest standoff.
Furious Palestinian officials have warned that unless Israel changes its stance on the prisoner releases, it could signal the end of the talks.
News of Kerry's unscheduled trip was confirmed by US State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki, who said his team had been working with both parties to "agree on a path forward."
"After consulting with his team, Secretary Kerry decided it would be productive to return to the region," she told reporters in Paris shortly before departing for Tel Aviv.
Washington has been fighting an uphill battle to coax the two sides into accepting a framework proposal which would extend the negotiations beyond April 29 to the end of the year.
But the question of extending the talks has become intricately tied up with the fate of the 26 prisoners.
Just a day ahead of the expected releases, Israel said it would not free detainees convicted of deadly attacks unless the Palestinians would commit to extending the negotiations.
But the Palestinians say they will not even discuss any extension of the negotiating period unless Israel frees the prisoners.
The impasse has triggered "intense" US efforts to resolve the dispute, with Kerry speaking with both sides earlier on Monday.
Israel's 'blackmail policy'
Ahead of Kerry's arrival, a Palestinian official told AFP the leadership had rejected an Israeli proposal to resolve the dispute that was laid out at a meeting of the two negotiating teams in Jerusalem on Sunday night.
"Israel made a proposal which was refused by the Palestinians," he said.
"Israel is practicing a policy of blackmail and linking its agreement to releasing the fourth batch of prisoners with the Palestinians accepting to extend the negotiations," he said.
In exchange for Palestinian agreement to continue the talks, Israel had offered to free the fourth batch of detainees and to release another 420 others.
But that number would involve only common law criminals and not sick detainees, women or children. And it would not include political heavyweights.
And although the Israelis were offering a partial settlement freeze in the West Bank, it would not be extended to annexed East Jerusalem, nor would it cover construction where tenders had already been published.
"The Israeli proposal aims to continue the negotiations indefinitely, without any results, in parallel with continued settlement building," he charged, saying such policies posed a "real danger" to the peace process.
On Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the fate of the US-brokered peace process would likely be sealed within the coming days, telling ministers: "Either the matter will be resolved or it will blow up."
And he said any deal to extend the negotiations would have to be put to the cabinet.
Also on Sunday, Kerry said the US would reserve judgement on the issues but that the time to make decisions was at hand.
"We'll see where we are tomorrow (Monday) when some judgments have to be made," he said.
It will be Kerry's first visit to Israel-Palestine since early January, although he has held face-to-face meetings with both Netanyahu and Abbas in Europe and the United States.
He also met Abbas last week in Amman.
Palestinians reject Israel talks proposal as 'blackmail'
The Palestinians have rejected an Israeli proposal to extend the crumbling peace talks beyond April 29, saying it was akin to "blackmail," an official in Ramallah told AFP on Monday.
"Israel is practicing a policy of blackmail and linking its agreement to releasing the fourth batch of prisoners with the Palestinians accepting to extend the negotiations," the official said following a late-night meeting at which the proposal was laid out to chief negotiator Saeb Erakat.
Shortly after US Secretary of State John Kerry took off from Paris for an unscheduled visit to Israel-Palestine, a Palestinian official confirmed that Ramallah had rejected an Israeli offer to extend talks beyond an April 29 deadline.
US peace efforts are teetering on the brink of collapse after Israel refused to free a group of 26 veteran Palestinian prisoners under an agreement which brought the sides back to the negotiating table in July 2013.
Speaking in Paris, a senior US official said Kerry would possibly hold meetings in Jerusalem and the West Bank town of Ramallah over Monday and Tuesday.
Kerry's arrival in Tel Aviv is likely to coincide with a 7:00 p.m. meeting of the Palestinian leadership in Ramallah which was called by president Mahmoud Abbas to discuss the latest standoff.
Furious Palestinian officials have warned that unless Israel changes its stance on the prisoner releases, it could signal the end of the talks.
News of Kerry's unscheduled trip was confirmed by US State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki, who said his team had been working with both parties to "agree on a path forward."
"After consulting with his team, Secretary Kerry decided it would be productive to return to the region," she told reporters in Paris shortly before departing for Tel Aviv.
Washington has been fighting an uphill battle to coax the two sides into accepting a framework proposal which would extend the negotiations beyond April 29 to the end of the year.
But the question of extending the talks has become intricately tied up with the fate of the 26 prisoners.
Just a day ahead of the expected releases, Israel said it would not free detainees convicted of deadly attacks unless the Palestinians would commit to extending the negotiations.
But the Palestinians say they will not even discuss any extension of the negotiating period unless Israel frees the prisoners.
The impasse has triggered "intense" US efforts to resolve the dispute, with Kerry speaking with both sides earlier on Monday.
Israel's 'blackmail policy'
Ahead of Kerry's arrival, a Palestinian official told AFP the leadership had rejected an Israeli proposal to resolve the dispute that was laid out at a meeting of the two negotiating teams in Jerusalem on Sunday night.
"Israel made a proposal which was refused by the Palestinians," he said.
"Israel is practicing a policy of blackmail and linking its agreement to releasing the fourth batch of prisoners with the Palestinians accepting to extend the negotiations," he said.
In exchange for Palestinian agreement to continue the talks, Israel had offered to free the fourth batch of detainees and to release another 420 others.
But that number would involve only common law criminals and not sick detainees, women or children. And it would not include political heavyweights.
And although the Israelis were offering a partial settlement freeze in the West Bank, it would not be extended to annexed East Jerusalem, nor would it cover construction where tenders had already been published.
"The Israeli proposal aims to continue the negotiations indefinitely, without any results, in parallel with continued settlement building," he charged, saying such policies posed a "real danger" to the peace process.
On Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the fate of the US-brokered peace process would likely be sealed within the coming days, telling ministers: "Either the matter will be resolved or it will blow up."
And he said any deal to extend the negotiations would have to be put to the cabinet.
Also on Sunday, Kerry said the US would reserve judgement on the issues but that the time to make decisions was at hand.
"We'll see where we are tomorrow (Monday) when some judgments have to be made," he said.
It will be Kerry's first visit to Israel-Palestine since early January, although he has held face-to-face meetings with both Netanyahu and Abbas in Europe and the United States.
He also met Abbas last week in Amman.
Palestinians reject Israel talks proposal as 'blackmail'
The Palestinians have rejected an Israeli proposal to extend the crumbling peace talks beyond April 29, saying it was akin to "blackmail," an official in Ramallah told AFP on Monday.
"Israel is practicing a policy of blackmail and linking its agreement to releasing the fourth batch of prisoners with the Palestinians accepting to extend the negotiations," the official said following a late-night meeting at which the proposal was laid out to chief negotiator Saeb Erakat.
The Israeli government issued confiscation orders to Palestinian land owners in Nablus on Monday to seize over 300 dunams (74 acres) of land to expand nearby illegal settlements, an official said.
Ghassan Daghlas, a Palestinian official who monitors settlement activity in the northern West Bank, told Ma'an that the Israeli government issued the seizure orders to landowners in the Ras Mues and al-Khafafish areas near the village of Jalud.
The land is located between the illegal Shilo settlement and outpost of Shvut Rachel and will be used to build a Jewish cemetery, school and farm, Daghlas said.
The land is owned by Tawfiq Abdullah al-Hajj Muhammad and his brother Ahmad.
Israel has begun work on 10,509 housing units in illegal settlements while simultaneously demolishing 146 Palestinian homes since peace talks began in July.
Since 1967, Israel has established over 150 settlements and some 100 outposts in the occupied West Bank, with a settler population of 520,000, according to OCHA.
Over 43 percent of land in the occupied West Bank is allocated to settlement local and regional councils.
Ghassan Daghlas, a Palestinian official who monitors settlement activity in the northern West Bank, told Ma'an that the Israeli government issued the seizure orders to landowners in the Ras Mues and al-Khafafish areas near the village of Jalud.
The land is located between the illegal Shilo settlement and outpost of Shvut Rachel and will be used to build a Jewish cemetery, school and farm, Daghlas said.
The land is owned by Tawfiq Abdullah al-Hajj Muhammad and his brother Ahmad.
Israel has begun work on 10,509 housing units in illegal settlements while simultaneously demolishing 146 Palestinian homes since peace talks began in July.
Since 1967, Israel has established over 150 settlements and some 100 outposts in the occupied West Bank, with a settler population of 520,000, according to OCHA.
Over 43 percent of land in the occupied West Bank is allocated to settlement local and regional councils.
Israeli Economy Minister Naftali Bennett launched Sunday evening a scathing attack against the Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. Bennet said sarcastly, “ Au Mazen has no economy as there is no security presence in the West Bank. He does not have sovereignty on the ground and he would not be able to remain in the West Bank for more than a minute and a half in case the Israeli army (Israeli occupation forces) withdrew from it.”
He said during an interview last night on the Hebrew Channel, “ Does Abu Mazen think he does us a favor for not going to the United Nation?? Do whatever you want Abu Mazen.”
“Abu Mazn knows clearly how many indictments will be directed against Fatah leadership if he heads there? I advice him not to threaten because he has interests more than us to continue negotiations,” he stressed.
He touched the news about the agreement of releasing the fourth batch of prisoners as well as to 400 other Palestinians in exchange for the talks, saying, “this news are not pre-empted its time we are not in April_ referring to April’s Fool.
“This will not happen and the Israeli occupation government will not pass it,” He said, pointing out that he is not against talks but against paying the price of these talks."
He said during an interview last night on the Hebrew Channel, “ Does Abu Mazen think he does us a favor for not going to the United Nation?? Do whatever you want Abu Mazen.”
“Abu Mazn knows clearly how many indictments will be directed against Fatah leadership if he heads there? I advice him not to threaten because he has interests more than us to continue negotiations,” he stressed.
He touched the news about the agreement of releasing the fourth batch of prisoners as well as to 400 other Palestinians in exchange for the talks, saying, “this news are not pre-empted its time we are not in April_ referring to April’s Fool.
“This will not happen and the Israeli occupation government will not pass it,” He said, pointing out that he is not against talks but against paying the price of these talks."
A senior Palestinian Authority official said that the US administration asked the Palestinian side to give it some time to determine the fate of the fourth and final batch of the Palestinian prisoners to be released by Israel. Quds Net quoted a senior PA official as saying on Sunday that the US administration asked for two days to declare Israel's approval or refusal to release the fourth group of prisoners.
According to this official, the PA was also demanded not to make any move at the UN level that could undermine the American efforts to save the peace talks.
The Israeli news website Walla said the Americans and Israelis asked PA chief Mahmoud Abbas to accept the extension of the peace talks for another six months in exchange for the release of 400 Palestinian prisoners other than the fourth batch which Israel had pledged earlier to free.
Chief PA negotiator Saeb Erekat, for his part, welcomed the US-Israeli overture and said the fourth batch of prisoners would be released next Tuesday.
According to this official, the PA was also demanded not to make any move at the UN level that could undermine the American efforts to save the peace talks.
The Israeli news website Walla said the Americans and Israelis asked PA chief Mahmoud Abbas to accept the extension of the peace talks for another six months in exchange for the release of 400 Palestinian prisoners other than the fourth batch which Israel had pledged earlier to free.
Chief PA negotiator Saeb Erekat, for his part, welcomed the US-Israeli overture and said the fourth batch of prisoners would be released next Tuesday.
A protester waves a Palestinian flag towards the Israeli border fence during a protest marking Land Day at the border between Israeli and Gaza Strip on March 30, 2014
Israel has handed the PLO a proposal aimed at extending peace talks beyond an April 29 deadline, as efforts to salvage the negotiations came to a head.
The fate of the US-brokered peace process could be decided within days, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said earlier, warning that "either the matter will be resolved or it will blow up".
Netanyahu's remarks to ministers from his right-wing Likud party came as US officials were working around the clock to prevent a collapse of the negotiations over a dispute about Palestinian prisoners.
"In any case, there won't be any deal without Israel knowing clearly what it will get in exchange," Netanyahu said.
According to a Palestinian official, Israel presented President Mahmoud Abbas with a draft agreement to push forward with the talks. Abbas was to examine the proposal during the night, he said.
An Israeli official would not provide details on the proposal but told AFP: "Now the Palestinians need to reply if they are willing to continue negotiations."
With the talks teetering on the brink of collapse, Washington has been fighting an uphill battle to coax the two sides into accepting a framework proposal that would extend negotiations beyond April 29.
But the issue has become tied up with the fate of 26 veteran Palestinian prisoners whom Israel was to have freed this weekend under the original terms agreed to relaunch talks.
Israel on Friday informed the Palestinians it would not free the prisoners, with the US State Department confirming it was working "intensively" to resolve the dispute.
US officials said Secretary of State John Kerry, in Paris Sunday, spoke with Netanyahu and later told reporters in the French capital that it was not yet appropriate for the US to make any public judgement about the situation "at this important moment".
"It's really a question between the Palestinians and the Israelis, and what Prime Minister Netanyahu is prepared to do," he added.
US State Department sources did not rule out the possibility that Kerry could fly from France to the Middle East if necessary on Monday.
Kerry himself said "we'll see where we are tomorrow (Monday) when some judgements have to be made."
'Critical week'
Israel's Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon said: "This is a critical week for the Israeli-Palestinian issue", noting Kerry's efforts and the "commitment and contribution of President (Barack) Obama towards this endeavor".
Yaalon, who made the remarks during a meeting with chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff General Martin Dempsey, had recently criticised Washington's foreign policy and reportedly called Kerry's peacemaking efforts "obsessive" and "messianic".
The PLO says it will not even consider extending the talks without the prisoners being freed, but Israel has refused to release them without a Palestinian commitment to continue the talks, prompting a fresh crisis of confidence.
"We agreed to the fourth batch," Intelligence Minister Yuval Steinitz told reporters on Sunday, while stressing it would not happen as long as Abbas was preparing to "blow up the negotiations" the very next day.
President Shimon Peres, in Austria, said the sides were "working around the clock in an effort to reach a breakthrough in the talks."
"I hope that in the coming days there will be positive developments in the negotiations," he said.
"The ball is now in Israel’s court," Palestinian prisoners minister Issa Qaraqaa told Voice of Palestine radio, saying the leadership was expecting an answer from the Israeli government within 24 hours.
Aside from the release of the 26 veteran detainees, Abbas reportedly wants an Israeli commitment to free more prisoners as one of his conditions for agreeing to extend the talks.
An Israeli official told AFP on Saturday that Israel was willing to free the prisoners but the Palestinians were "creating difficulties".
Under the deal that relaunched peace talks, Israel agreed to release 104 prisoners held since before the 1993 Oslo peace accords in exchange for the Palestinians freezing all efforts to seek further international recognition.
So far, Israel has freed 78 of them in three batches, and the last group -- which the Palestinians insist includes 14 Arab Israelis jailed for nationalist attacks -- was to have been released on March 29.
Israel's government has announced the construction of thousands of settler housing units and its army has killed 60 Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza since the talks began.
The Israeli government has also insisted that it maintain a military and civilian presence in the occupied Jordan Valley, which forms around a third of the West Bank, and has insisted that the PLO recognize it as a "Jewish state," despite having already officially recognized Israel decades earlier.
Israel has handed the PLO a proposal aimed at extending peace talks beyond an April 29 deadline, as efforts to salvage the negotiations came to a head.
The fate of the US-brokered peace process could be decided within days, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said earlier, warning that "either the matter will be resolved or it will blow up".
Netanyahu's remarks to ministers from his right-wing Likud party came as US officials were working around the clock to prevent a collapse of the negotiations over a dispute about Palestinian prisoners.
"In any case, there won't be any deal without Israel knowing clearly what it will get in exchange," Netanyahu said.
According to a Palestinian official, Israel presented President Mahmoud Abbas with a draft agreement to push forward with the talks. Abbas was to examine the proposal during the night, he said.
An Israeli official would not provide details on the proposal but told AFP: "Now the Palestinians need to reply if they are willing to continue negotiations."
With the talks teetering on the brink of collapse, Washington has been fighting an uphill battle to coax the two sides into accepting a framework proposal that would extend negotiations beyond April 29.
But the issue has become tied up with the fate of 26 veteran Palestinian prisoners whom Israel was to have freed this weekend under the original terms agreed to relaunch talks.
Israel on Friday informed the Palestinians it would not free the prisoners, with the US State Department confirming it was working "intensively" to resolve the dispute.
US officials said Secretary of State John Kerry, in Paris Sunday, spoke with Netanyahu and later told reporters in the French capital that it was not yet appropriate for the US to make any public judgement about the situation "at this important moment".
"It's really a question between the Palestinians and the Israelis, and what Prime Minister Netanyahu is prepared to do," he added.
US State Department sources did not rule out the possibility that Kerry could fly from France to the Middle East if necessary on Monday.
Kerry himself said "we'll see where we are tomorrow (Monday) when some judgements have to be made."
'Critical week'
Israel's Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon said: "This is a critical week for the Israeli-Palestinian issue", noting Kerry's efforts and the "commitment and contribution of President (Barack) Obama towards this endeavor".
Yaalon, who made the remarks during a meeting with chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff General Martin Dempsey, had recently criticised Washington's foreign policy and reportedly called Kerry's peacemaking efforts "obsessive" and "messianic".
The PLO says it will not even consider extending the talks without the prisoners being freed, but Israel has refused to release them without a Palestinian commitment to continue the talks, prompting a fresh crisis of confidence.
"We agreed to the fourth batch," Intelligence Minister Yuval Steinitz told reporters on Sunday, while stressing it would not happen as long as Abbas was preparing to "blow up the negotiations" the very next day.
President Shimon Peres, in Austria, said the sides were "working around the clock in an effort to reach a breakthrough in the talks."
"I hope that in the coming days there will be positive developments in the negotiations," he said.
"The ball is now in Israel’s court," Palestinian prisoners minister Issa Qaraqaa told Voice of Palestine radio, saying the leadership was expecting an answer from the Israeli government within 24 hours.
Aside from the release of the 26 veteran detainees, Abbas reportedly wants an Israeli commitment to free more prisoners as one of his conditions for agreeing to extend the talks.
An Israeli official told AFP on Saturday that Israel was willing to free the prisoners but the Palestinians were "creating difficulties".
Under the deal that relaunched peace talks, Israel agreed to release 104 prisoners held since before the 1993 Oslo peace accords in exchange for the Palestinians freezing all efforts to seek further international recognition.
So far, Israel has freed 78 of them in three batches, and the last group -- which the Palestinians insist includes 14 Arab Israelis jailed for nationalist attacks -- was to have been released on March 29.
Israel's government has announced the construction of thousands of settler housing units and its army has killed 60 Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza since the talks began.
The Israeli government has also insisted that it maintain a military and civilian presence in the occupied Jordan Valley, which forms around a third of the West Bank, and has insisted that the PLO recognize it as a "Jewish state," despite having already officially recognized Israel decades earlier.
30 mar 2014
In a flagrant announcement, Israel's Economy Minister Naftali Bennett threatened the Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who threatens to go to UN institutions in case of Israel's disapproval of Palestinian prisoner's release.
Israel's Channel 7 quoted Bennett as saying that the Palestinian President is threatening Israel to head to UN institutions, adding that Israel will find a way to prevent him. Bennett stressed that Israel will know how to behave with the Palestinian president and chairman of the Fatah movement and will condemn him for attempting to cause harm to Israel.
Bennett said that "let Abbas, who doesn't have security, army forces or economy, to confront us." Adding, the Israeli Army is able to occupy the Palestinian cities during less than two minutes. Bennett advised Abbas not to threaten Israel because he has no state with borders and no potentials, despite that the UN has recognized his state, yet it doesn't mean anything to Israel.
Bannett said that he advised Abbas to continue with the negotiations with Israel, adding that he is not against the negotiations, but against using the negotiations to blackmailing Israel.
He also said that Israel must not be afraid of Abbas' threats regarding their decision to go to the United Nations.
Bennett demanded that Israel must ask itself a deep question of what is the point to continue with the negotiations, if Abbas is still determined not to recognize Israel as a 'Jewish State', adding that the land is the land of Israel and the Jews that God promised them, a thing that Muslims and Christians refuse.
Bennett said that the US proposal to release 400 Palestinian prisoners are just rumors, saying that the Israeli government didn't discuss these proposals in its session. He added that the Palestinian persistence on releasing the Palestinian prisoners who live inside Israel, is –according to Bennett- an attack against Israel.
Bennett considered that the Palestinian President's insistence on the releasing of the prisoners is just "dreams and illusions", and that his party will be ready to leave the Netanyahu's government if Israel approved to release the prisoners.
Israel's Channel 7 quoted Bennett as saying that the Palestinian President is threatening Israel to head to UN institutions, adding that Israel will find a way to prevent him. Bennett stressed that Israel will know how to behave with the Palestinian president and chairman of the Fatah movement and will condemn him for attempting to cause harm to Israel.
Bennett said that "let Abbas, who doesn't have security, army forces or economy, to confront us." Adding, the Israeli Army is able to occupy the Palestinian cities during less than two minutes. Bennett advised Abbas not to threaten Israel because he has no state with borders and no potentials, despite that the UN has recognized his state, yet it doesn't mean anything to Israel.
Bannett said that he advised Abbas to continue with the negotiations with Israel, adding that he is not against the negotiations, but against using the negotiations to blackmailing Israel.
He also said that Israel must not be afraid of Abbas' threats regarding their decision to go to the United Nations.
Bennett demanded that Israel must ask itself a deep question of what is the point to continue with the negotiations, if Abbas is still determined not to recognize Israel as a 'Jewish State', adding that the land is the land of Israel and the Jews that God promised them, a thing that Muslims and Christians refuse.
Bennett said that the US proposal to release 400 Palestinian prisoners are just rumors, saying that the Israeli government didn't discuss these proposals in its session. He added that the Palestinian persistence on releasing the Palestinian prisoners who live inside Israel, is –according to Bennett- an attack against Israel.
Bennett considered that the Palestinian President's insistence on the releasing of the prisoners is just "dreams and illusions", and that his party will be ready to leave the Netanyahu's government if Israel approved to release the prisoners.
The Palestinian leadership will hold a meeting on Monday to discuss further steps if Israel does not release a fourth group of veteran prisoners, the undersecretary of PA’s ministry of detainees said.
Ziad Abu Ein told Ma’an that the meeting was called to discuss steps that could be taken in case Israel reneges on the deal to release the last group of 30 Palestinian prisoners.
He added that Israel did not officially inform Palestinian officials of its intent not to release the prisoners, but they have informed the US that they want to release the fourth group on the condition that negotiations are extended, and that the PA decides not to seek standing in international organizations.
Abu Ein added that there are proposal to release other prisoners but refused to elaborate, adding that President Mahmoud Abbas refuses to discuss anything until the prisoners are released.
Abu Ein ruled out the possibility of releasing the prisoners in the next two days, saying that their names need to be made public 48 hours before their release.
He said chief negotiator Saeb Erekat is having on-going discussion with the US ambassador on the issue.
Erekat said a day earlier that Abbas has been exerting all efforts to negotiate the release of the fourth group.
Israel "must release the fourth batch" of prisoners, held in Israeli jails since before the 1993 Oslo Accords, Erekat said Sunday.
The deal at the beginning of the negotiations was for Israel to release 104 veteran prisoners in exchange for the PLO's pledge not to attempt a statehood bid at the UN or other international bodies, Erekat reiterated.
He said the PLO was involved in "sensitive talks" with the US and the Israel, but that he could not reveal details.
Israel was scheduled to release the final group of prisoners on Saturday, but did not.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday that debate with the PLO over the prisoner release could go on for "a number of days," the Israeli newspaper Jerusalem Post reported on its website.
Netanyahu said at a meeting with members of his right-wing Likud party that prisoners would not be freed "without a clear benefit for Israel in return," the report said.
So far, 78 of a total of 104 veteran Palestinian prisoners have been freed in three separate tranches.
Ziad Abu Ein told Ma’an that the meeting was called to discuss steps that could be taken in case Israel reneges on the deal to release the last group of 30 Palestinian prisoners.
He added that Israel did not officially inform Palestinian officials of its intent not to release the prisoners, but they have informed the US that they want to release the fourth group on the condition that negotiations are extended, and that the PA decides not to seek standing in international organizations.
Abu Ein added that there are proposal to release other prisoners but refused to elaborate, adding that President Mahmoud Abbas refuses to discuss anything until the prisoners are released.
Abu Ein ruled out the possibility of releasing the prisoners in the next two days, saying that their names need to be made public 48 hours before their release.
He said chief negotiator Saeb Erekat is having on-going discussion with the US ambassador on the issue.
Erekat said a day earlier that Abbas has been exerting all efforts to negotiate the release of the fourth group.
Israel "must release the fourth batch" of prisoners, held in Israeli jails since before the 1993 Oslo Accords, Erekat said Sunday.
The deal at the beginning of the negotiations was for Israel to release 104 veteran prisoners in exchange for the PLO's pledge not to attempt a statehood bid at the UN or other international bodies, Erekat reiterated.
He said the PLO was involved in "sensitive talks" with the US and the Israel, but that he could not reveal details.
Israel was scheduled to release the final group of prisoners on Saturday, but did not.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday that debate with the PLO over the prisoner release could go on for "a number of days," the Israeli newspaper Jerusalem Post reported on its website.
Netanyahu said at a meeting with members of his right-wing Likud party that prisoners would not be freed "without a clear benefit for Israel in return," the report said.
So far, 78 of a total of 104 veteran Palestinian prisoners have been freed in three separate tranches.
President Mahmoud Abbas has been exerting all efforts to negotiate the release of the fourth group of Palestinian veteran prisoners, a PLO official said Sunday.
Chief PLO negotiator Saeb Erekat said in a statement that Israel "must release the fourth batch" of prisoners, held in Israeli jails since before the 1993 Oslo Accords.
The deal at the beginning of the negotiations was for Israel to release 104 veteran prisoners in exchange for the PLO's pledge not to attempt a statehood bid at the UN or other international bodies, Erekat reiterated.
He said the PLO was involved in "sensitive talks" with the US and the Israel, but that he could not reveal details to the media.
Israel was scheduled to release the final group of prisoners on Saturday, but did not.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday that debate with the PLO over the prisoner release could go on for "a number of days," the Israeli newspaper Jerusalem Post reported on its website.
Netanyahu said at a meeting with members of his right-wing Likud party that prisoners would not be freed "without a clear benefit for Israel in return," the report said.
So far, 78 of a total of 104 veteran Palestinian prisoners have been freed in three separate tranches.
Continued 'Jewish state' impasse
Separately, on Saturday, the London-based Arabic-language newspaper al-Hayat quoted western diplomats as saying that US Secretary of State John Kerry was trying to overcome the impasse over the recognition of Israel as a "Jewish state."
According to the report, Kerry suggested changing the language to "the homeland of the Jewish people." In exchange, the Palestinians would have to agree to establish a capital in only a part of East Jerusalem, not all of it.
The report said the PLO had rejected the proposal.
The PLO recognized Israel's right to exist in 1988, but says that recognizing Israel as a "Jewish state" could jeopardize the right of return for Palestinian refugees and limit the rights of Palestinians living in Israel.
Peace talks between Israelis and Palestinians were relaunched in July under the auspices of the US after nearly three years of impasse.
Israel's government has announced the construction of thousands of settler housing units and its army has killed 60 Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza since the negotiations began.
Chief PLO negotiator Saeb Erekat said in a statement that Israel "must release the fourth batch" of prisoners, held in Israeli jails since before the 1993 Oslo Accords.
The deal at the beginning of the negotiations was for Israel to release 104 veteran prisoners in exchange for the PLO's pledge not to attempt a statehood bid at the UN or other international bodies, Erekat reiterated.
He said the PLO was involved in "sensitive talks" with the US and the Israel, but that he could not reveal details to the media.
Israel was scheduled to release the final group of prisoners on Saturday, but did not.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday that debate with the PLO over the prisoner release could go on for "a number of days," the Israeli newspaper Jerusalem Post reported on its website.
Netanyahu said at a meeting with members of his right-wing Likud party that prisoners would not be freed "without a clear benefit for Israel in return," the report said.
So far, 78 of a total of 104 veteran Palestinian prisoners have been freed in three separate tranches.
Continued 'Jewish state' impasse
Separately, on Saturday, the London-based Arabic-language newspaper al-Hayat quoted western diplomats as saying that US Secretary of State John Kerry was trying to overcome the impasse over the recognition of Israel as a "Jewish state."
According to the report, Kerry suggested changing the language to "the homeland of the Jewish people." In exchange, the Palestinians would have to agree to establish a capital in only a part of East Jerusalem, not all of it.
The report said the PLO had rejected the proposal.
The PLO recognized Israel's right to exist in 1988, but says that recognizing Israel as a "Jewish state" could jeopardize the right of return for Palestinian refugees and limit the rights of Palestinians living in Israel.
Peace talks between Israelis and Palestinians were relaunched in July under the auspices of the US after nearly three years of impasse.
Israel's government has announced the construction of thousands of settler housing units and its army has killed 60 Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza since the negotiations began.
The Aqsa foundation for endowment and heritage said that the Israeli occupation authority (IOA) plans to build about 100 synagogues and religious schools in the Old City of Jerusalem. In a press release on Saturday, the Aqsa foundation stated these synagogues and schools are part of a big plan aimed at Judaizing the whole Old City of Jerusalem during the coming 20 years.
It warned that Israel wants to encircle the Aqsa Mosque with these synagogues and schools, which will serve as hotbeds for Jewish temple groups that target the Mosque.
The foundation noted that the IOA built in recent years two big synagogues in place of Islamic holy sites near the Aqsa Mosque and plans to build a third huge synagogue soon in the Old City of Jerusalem.
It warned that Israel wants to encircle the Aqsa Mosque with these synagogues and schools, which will serve as hotbeds for Jewish temple groups that target the Mosque.
The foundation noted that the IOA built in recent years two big synagogues in place of Islamic holy sites near the Aqsa Mosque and plans to build a third huge synagogue soon in the Old City of Jerusalem.
