5 dec 2016
Israel cannot have both, US Secretary of State John Kerry said, in unprecedented comments, Sunday, at the annual Saban Forum hosted by the Brookings Institution, in Washington DC.
“There is no status quo. It is getting worse,” said Kerry, according to Al Ray, referring to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. “It is moving in the wrong direction.”
Kerry, who has described himself as an “unapologetic friend of Israel”, said that Tel Aviv is, nonetheless, “ignoring all our warnings regarding settlements”.
“There is a basic choice that has to be made by Israelis, by the leadership of Israel,” he said, “and that is are there going to be continued settlements, is there going to be a continued implementation of settlement policy, or is there going to be separation and the creation of two states?”
Still, the top diplomat said that the “tipping point” between the alternatives had not yet been crossed.
The comments are some of the sternest to date from the US, Israel’s staunchest ally on the international stage.
The Obama administration recently agreed to increase Israel’s foreign military financing to $3.8 billion per year for the next decade, from $3.1 billion.
But Israel cannot broker a separate peace with the Arab world if it does not move toward a Palestinian state, Kerry said.
“That is a hard reality,” Kerry said.
Israeli premier Benjamin Netanyahu has long insisted that his government is committed to a two-state solution, but Palestinians have criticized his policy of settlement expansion as a major impediment to the realization of their state.
As recently as March of 2015, shortly before his re-election, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that he would not allow a Palestinian state, if re-elected, effectively reneging on his 2009 endorsement of a two-state solution.
During the 2013 Israeli-Palestinian peace talks led by US Secretary of State John Kerry, Israeli officials announced and, eventually, carried out in full force, plans to build thousands of additional homes in illegal settlements across the occupied West Bank, while continuing to further seize lands, demolish homes and agricultural resources and, thus, leaving scores of Palestinian families severely disenfranchised and without so much as a roof over their heads to shelter them from inclement weather.
Gazans were already surviving on a mere 8 hours per day of electricity when the Palestinian negotiating team finally resigned in protest, in mid-November. Israel, soon after, made quite clear its position on securing peace with Palestinians when Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu, during a meeting with young Likud Party supporters, boasted:
“I was threatened in Washington: ‘not one brick’ [of settlement construction] … after five years, we built a little more than one brick…”
Asked about ‘peace talks with the Palestinians”, the PM reportedly replied, according to +972 online Israeli magazine: “about the – what?” to which his audience responded with a round of chuckling.
Netanyahu also vowed, in recent days, that he would never allow the Palestinian people to have East Jerusalem as their future capital and pledged to build “thousands” of settler units across the city.
Kerry emphasized that settlements are a “barrier to peace” with the Palestinians.
“Out of the mouths of ministers, in the current government, have come profoundly disturbing statements publicly,” he said, referring to statement dismissing a Palestinian state. “This is the predicament. This is where we find ourselves,” he added.
“There is no status quo. It is getting worse,” said Kerry, according to Al Ray, referring to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. “It is moving in the wrong direction.”
Kerry, who has described himself as an “unapologetic friend of Israel”, said that Tel Aviv is, nonetheless, “ignoring all our warnings regarding settlements”.
“There is a basic choice that has to be made by Israelis, by the leadership of Israel,” he said, “and that is are there going to be continued settlements, is there going to be a continued implementation of settlement policy, or is there going to be separation and the creation of two states?”
Still, the top diplomat said that the “tipping point” between the alternatives had not yet been crossed.
The comments are some of the sternest to date from the US, Israel’s staunchest ally on the international stage.
The Obama administration recently agreed to increase Israel’s foreign military financing to $3.8 billion per year for the next decade, from $3.1 billion.
But Israel cannot broker a separate peace with the Arab world if it does not move toward a Palestinian state, Kerry said.
“That is a hard reality,” Kerry said.
Israeli premier Benjamin Netanyahu has long insisted that his government is committed to a two-state solution, but Palestinians have criticized his policy of settlement expansion as a major impediment to the realization of their state.
As recently as March of 2015, shortly before his re-election, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that he would not allow a Palestinian state, if re-elected, effectively reneging on his 2009 endorsement of a two-state solution.
During the 2013 Israeli-Palestinian peace talks led by US Secretary of State John Kerry, Israeli officials announced and, eventually, carried out in full force, plans to build thousands of additional homes in illegal settlements across the occupied West Bank, while continuing to further seize lands, demolish homes and agricultural resources and, thus, leaving scores of Palestinian families severely disenfranchised and without so much as a roof over their heads to shelter them from inclement weather.
Gazans were already surviving on a mere 8 hours per day of electricity when the Palestinian negotiating team finally resigned in protest, in mid-November. Israel, soon after, made quite clear its position on securing peace with Palestinians when Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu, during a meeting with young Likud Party supporters, boasted:
“I was threatened in Washington: ‘not one brick’ [of settlement construction] … after five years, we built a little more than one brick…”
Asked about ‘peace talks with the Palestinians”, the PM reportedly replied, according to +972 online Israeli magazine: “about the – what?” to which his audience responded with a round of chuckling.
Netanyahu also vowed, in recent days, that he would never allow the Palestinian people to have East Jerusalem as their future capital and pledged to build “thousands” of settler units across the city.
Kerry emphasized that settlements are a “barrier to peace” with the Palestinians.
“Out of the mouths of ministers, in the current government, have come profoundly disturbing statements publicly,” he said, referring to statement dismissing a Palestinian state. “This is the predicament. This is where we find ourselves,” he added.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is seeking ways to legitimize nearly 4,000 settlement units illegally built on Palestinian private lands in the occupied West Bank.
The Israeli Channel 7 said a strategic deal is about to see the day as soon as a compromise will be reached between Netanyahu and Bayit Yehudi chairman Education Minister Naftali Bennett over the settlement bid.
The compromise will culminate in the legalization of 4,000 settlement units, along with dozens of other isolated houses.
A report broadcast by Channel 7 warned of underway attempts to sanction dozens of thousands of settlement buildings illegally built on Palestinians’ own lands.
The bid does not only seek to whitewash the illegal settlement in Amona outpost. 55 other outposts, comprising 797 settlement units built on 3,067 dunums of Palestinian lands, are also to take profit from the settlement-whitewash process.
The sought-after compromise will also bring about a legalization of 3,125 illegal settlement units established on Palestinian lands covering an overall area of 5,014 dunums.
A few days earlier, the Israeli legal adviser, under pressure from Netanyahu, ruled for the transfer of Amona settlement units to three nearby land lots on claims that they make part of absentee land property.
The Israeli Channel 7 said a strategic deal is about to see the day as soon as a compromise will be reached between Netanyahu and Bayit Yehudi chairman Education Minister Naftali Bennett over the settlement bid.
The compromise will culminate in the legalization of 4,000 settlement units, along with dozens of other isolated houses.
A report broadcast by Channel 7 warned of underway attempts to sanction dozens of thousands of settlement buildings illegally built on Palestinians’ own lands.
The bid does not only seek to whitewash the illegal settlement in Amona outpost. 55 other outposts, comprising 797 settlement units built on 3,067 dunums of Palestinian lands, are also to take profit from the settlement-whitewash process.
The sought-after compromise will also bring about a legalization of 3,125 illegal settlement units established on Palestinian lands covering an overall area of 5,014 dunums.
A few days earlier, the Israeli legal adviser, under pressure from Netanyahu, ruled for the transfer of Amona settlement units to three nearby land lots on claims that they make part of absentee land property.
4 dec 2016
Israel’s Channel 10 has revealed that the Israeli authorities will approve next Wednesday a plan to build 770 housing units in Gilo settlement, southeast of Occupied Jerusalem.
The plan also includes the building of a synagogue in the settlement.
The Israeli government was intending to execute this plan in 2013, but it refrained from doing so following US pressures, according to the Channel.
Several settlement projects will be carried out in the near future in areas between Bethlehem and east Jerusalem, the Channel pointed out.
The plan also includes the building of a synagogue in the settlement.
The Israeli government was intending to execute this plan in 2013, but it refrained from doing so following US pressures, according to the Channel.
Several settlement projects will be carried out in the near future in areas between Bethlehem and east Jerusalem, the Channel pointed out.
3 dec 2016
Israeli Army Minister Avigdor Lieberman called Saturday for postponing outpost regulation bill vote until after U.S. newly elected President Donald Trump’s inauguration.
Addressing the Saban Forum in Washington, Lieberman said that “the key to the future of the settlements is getting understandings with the U.S. on this issue.”
There is no peace with Palestinians, he said, holding PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas responsible for the suspension of the peace process.
He pointed out that Abbas’s recent statements of the Palestinian right of return are not acceptable.
The Palestinian right of return means the end of Israeli state, he said.
Lieberman expressed hope that President-elect Donald Trump will play an active role in ending the war in Syria and will be very tough with Iran.
“We need an active America in the Middle East.”
The Brookings Institution’s annual Saban Forum, hosted by Israeli-American billionaire Haim Saban, has in the past provided a venue for top Israeli and American diplomats to appraise their challenges and to outline their vision for the Middle East.
Addressing the Saban Forum in Washington, Lieberman said that “the key to the future of the settlements is getting understandings with the U.S. on this issue.”
There is no peace with Palestinians, he said, holding PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas responsible for the suspension of the peace process.
He pointed out that Abbas’s recent statements of the Palestinian right of return are not acceptable.
The Palestinian right of return means the end of Israeli state, he said.
Lieberman expressed hope that President-elect Donald Trump will play an active role in ending the war in Syria and will be very tough with Iran.
“We need an active America in the Middle East.”
The Brookings Institution’s annual Saban Forum, hosted by Israeli-American billionaire Haim Saban, has in the past provided a venue for top Israeli and American diplomats to appraise their challenges and to outline their vision for the Middle East.
Israeli media sources revealed that Israeli authorities took advantage of the U.S. presidential transition period to approve 10,000 new housing units in occupied Jerusalem.
Kol Ha'ir weekly newspaper affirmed that the Israeli government is working to accelerate settlement projects in occupied Jerusalem amid fears that “U.S. President Barack Obama's administration will impose an artificial settlement suspension during the transition period.”
According to the paper, 1,100 housing units were approved in Ramat Shlomo settlement in occupied Jerusalem, while 2,300 others were approved in Gilo settlement.
2,620 settlement units were also approved in Givat Hmreis while 734 units were approved in Ramot, in addition to hundreds of housing units in settlements of Pisgat Zeev, Har Homa, Prophet Jacob, and Mishor Adumim.
Last week, 600 housing units were approved in Ramat Shlomo.
500 other units were approved in the same illegal settlement over the past few months, while nearly 1,600 housing units are expected to be approved in the near future in the settlement.
Head of the Israeli Local Planning and Building Council, Meir Turgeman, told the weekly newspaper that Israeli municipality in occupied Jerusalem would accelerate settlement construction during the U.S. presidential transition period.
Kol Ha'ir weekly newspaper affirmed that the Israeli government is working to accelerate settlement projects in occupied Jerusalem amid fears that “U.S. President Barack Obama's administration will impose an artificial settlement suspension during the transition period.”
According to the paper, 1,100 housing units were approved in Ramat Shlomo settlement in occupied Jerusalem, while 2,300 others were approved in Gilo settlement.
2,620 settlement units were also approved in Givat Hmreis while 734 units were approved in Ramot, in addition to hundreds of housing units in settlements of Pisgat Zeev, Har Homa, Prophet Jacob, and Mishor Adumim.
Last week, 600 housing units were approved in Ramat Shlomo.
500 other units were approved in the same illegal settlement over the past few months, while nearly 1,600 housing units are expected to be approved in the near future in the settlement.
Head of the Israeli Local Planning and Building Council, Meir Turgeman, told the weekly newspaper that Israeli municipality in occupied Jerusalem would accelerate settlement construction during the U.S. presidential transition period.
1 dec 2016
Palestinian Authority (PA) president Mahmoud Abbas has reiterated his adherence to the peace process and the political and diplomatic approach as means to end the occupation.
In a lengthy speech he delivered at the seventh Fatah conference on Wednesday, Abbas also renewed his support for the convening of an international peace conference according to the French initiative.
He expressed his rejection of any transitional or piecemeal solutions to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, adding that he would work on getting full UN membership.
“We are determined to obtain full membership in the UN and to join all international organizations,” the PA chief said.
In another context, Abbas expressed his thanks to Hamas political chief Khaled Mishaal for his message that was read on his behalf at the opening ceremony of the Fatah conference, describing it as a “message of good faith.”
He pledged to continue making efforts to end the national division and strengthen the internal front, affirming that there would be no Palestinian state without Gaza.
The president added that he would work on convening the Palestinian National Council with the participation of all Palestinian factions before year-end to rearrange the national institutions.
In a lengthy speech he delivered at the seventh Fatah conference on Wednesday, Abbas also renewed his support for the convening of an international peace conference according to the French initiative.
He expressed his rejection of any transitional or piecemeal solutions to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, adding that he would work on getting full UN membership.
“We are determined to obtain full membership in the UN and to join all international organizations,” the PA chief said.
In another context, Abbas expressed his thanks to Hamas political chief Khaled Mishaal for his message that was read on his behalf at the opening ceremony of the Fatah conference, describing it as a “message of good faith.”
He pledged to continue making efforts to end the national division and strengthen the internal front, affirming that there would be no Palestinian state without Gaza.
The president added that he would work on convening the Palestinian National Council with the participation of all Palestinian factions before year-end to rearrange the national institutions.
23 nov 2016
The Israeli municipality in occupied Jerusalem approved Wednesday afternoon the construction of 500 new settlement units.
The municipality’s decision came a few days after the Israeli mayor vowed to exploit Donald Trump’s election as US President to escalate settlement construction in the occupied city.
The new approved settlement units would be built in Ramat Shlomo settlement.
The municipality’s decision came a few days after the Israeli mayor vowed to exploit Donald Trump’s election as US President to escalate settlement construction in the occupied city.
The new approved settlement units would be built in Ramat Shlomo settlement.