30 dec 2016
The Palestinian Return Center (PRC) slammed on Thursday a speech by the American Secretary of State, John Kerry, on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, saying his comments pose a danger for Palestinians’ rights, particularly the right of return.
According to PRC, the call of Kerry to resettle refugees in countries other than their homes is unacceptable and is a flagrant violation of the international law.
On the basis of its committed position in defending the rights of Palestinian refugees and as an organization in special consultative status with the UN ECOSOC, PRC confirmed that breaching the Right of Return for Palestinian refugees is against international law, UN resolutions, and the Universal Declaration for Human Rights, which all grant the right of return.
PRC added that ignoring the right of return for millions of Palestinian refugees will indeed make attempts to achieve peace fail.
It noted that any discussions or negotiations should be based on and comply with international law. The right of return is well enshrined in international law.
PRC further stated that the reference of Kerry to the Nakba and Palestinian refugees’ plight is a new recognition of their suffering, adding that the only way to end it is to allow them to return to their native homes and villages.
On Wednesday, Kerry delivered a lengthy speech as part of his so-called “comprehensive peace vision.”
According to PRC, the call of Kerry to resettle refugees in countries other than their homes is unacceptable and is a flagrant violation of the international law.
On the basis of its committed position in defending the rights of Palestinian refugees and as an organization in special consultative status with the UN ECOSOC, PRC confirmed that breaching the Right of Return for Palestinian refugees is against international law, UN resolutions, and the Universal Declaration for Human Rights, which all grant the right of return.
PRC added that ignoring the right of return for millions of Palestinian refugees will indeed make attempts to achieve peace fail.
It noted that any discussions or negotiations should be based on and comply with international law. The right of return is well enshrined in international law.
PRC further stated that the reference of Kerry to the Nakba and Palestinian refugees’ plight is a new recognition of their suffering, adding that the only way to end it is to allow them to return to their native homes and villages.
On Wednesday, Kerry delivered a lengthy speech as part of his so-called “comprehensive peace vision.”
29 dec 2016
Trump with Don King
Speaking to journalists, US president-elect says Israel being treated 'very, very unfairly,' maintaining that countries that are 'horrible places' never get reprimanded; says UN could have potential, but could be a 'waste of time and money.'
US President-elect Donald Trump continued to tear into the UN for its disproportionate treatment against Israel, hours after US Secretary of State John Kerry gave a speech outlining his vision for peace between Israel and the Palestinians.
Speaking to journalists in Florida, Trump said Israel is being treated "very, very unfairly," maintaining that countries that are "horrible places" never get reprimanded.
He also bemoaned the fact that Israel is "up for 20 reprimands" at the United Nations, whereas nations that are "horrible places, that treat people horribly, haven't even been reprimanded." Speaking to journalists, US president-elect says Israel being treated 'very, very unfairly,' maintaining that countries that are 'horrible places' never get reprimanded; says UN could have potential, but could be a 'waste of time and money.'
Shortly before Kerry’s speech Trump took to Twitter and posted: "We cannot continue to let Israel be treated with such total disdain and disrespect. They used to have a great friend in the US, but.......,"
Posting another one straight after, he made clear that the UN had become a foe of Israel’s.
"Not anymore. The beginning of the end was the horrible Iran deal, and now this (UN)! Stay strong Israel, January 20th is fast approaching!" he added, referring to when he takes over the White House from Democratic President Barack Obama.
During the same conversation with reporters, he refused to directly answer a question about whether Israel should stop building settlements, saying he is "very, very strong on Israel."
Addressing the general activities of the UN itself, Trump said it was responsible for causing many problems rather than solving them.
“So, if it lives up to the potential, it's a great thing,” Trump added. “And if it doesn't, it's a waste of time and money.”
Appearing alongside Trump was boxing promoter Don King who was carrying a number of flags, including an Israeli flag and calling for peace in the Middle East.
Speaking to journalists, US president-elect says Israel being treated 'very, very unfairly,' maintaining that countries that are 'horrible places' never get reprimanded; says UN could have potential, but could be a 'waste of time and money.'
US President-elect Donald Trump continued to tear into the UN for its disproportionate treatment against Israel, hours after US Secretary of State John Kerry gave a speech outlining his vision for peace between Israel and the Palestinians.
Speaking to journalists in Florida, Trump said Israel is being treated "very, very unfairly," maintaining that countries that are "horrible places" never get reprimanded.
He also bemoaned the fact that Israel is "up for 20 reprimands" at the United Nations, whereas nations that are "horrible places, that treat people horribly, haven't even been reprimanded." Speaking to journalists, US president-elect says Israel being treated 'very, very unfairly,' maintaining that countries that are 'horrible places' never get reprimanded; says UN could have potential, but could be a 'waste of time and money.'
Shortly before Kerry’s speech Trump took to Twitter and posted: "We cannot continue to let Israel be treated with such total disdain and disrespect. They used to have a great friend in the US, but.......,"
Posting another one straight after, he made clear that the UN had become a foe of Israel’s.
"Not anymore. The beginning of the end was the horrible Iran deal, and now this (UN)! Stay strong Israel, January 20th is fast approaching!" he added, referring to when he takes over the White House from Democratic President Barack Obama.
During the same conversation with reporters, he refused to directly answer a question about whether Israel should stop building settlements, saying he is "very, very strong on Israel."
Addressing the general activities of the UN itself, Trump said it was responsible for causing many problems rather than solving them.
“So, if it lives up to the potential, it's a great thing,” Trump added. “And if it doesn't, it's a waste of time and money.”
Appearing alongside Trump was boxing promoter Don King who was carrying a number of flags, including an Israeli flag and calling for peace in the Middle East.
Hours after US Secretary of State John Kerry’s speech, Israel’s Jerusalem municipality approved a plan to build a three-story building for Jewish settlers in the heart of the Palestinian neighborhood of Silwan, Haaretz reported.
According to the Israeli daily paper, the Silwan settlement project was introduced by the Israeli pro-settlement nonprofit organization Ateret Cohanim, and its approval was postponed many times in the past due to political pressure.
The plan will permit Ateret Cohanim to construct a new building located near the site of controversial Beit Yonathan, which was sold to Ateret Cohanim by the custodian of absentee properties, without a tender, according to the paper.
Earlier Wednesday, the municipality cancelled a vote to approve settler units to avoid further strain on diplomatic relations with the US, as US Secretary of State John Kerry was set to give a speech addressing his vision for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and a new United Nations Security Council resolution that reaffirmed that Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory are illegal under international law.
However, just ahead of Kerry's speech, a vote on the Silwan project took place, according to Israeli daily Haaretz.
The report also said that the Jerusalem municipality denied that Netanyahu had called for the earlier vote on the units in Ramon and Ramat Shlomo to be put off.
According to the Israeli daily paper, the Silwan settlement project was introduced by the Israeli pro-settlement nonprofit organization Ateret Cohanim, and its approval was postponed many times in the past due to political pressure.
The plan will permit Ateret Cohanim to construct a new building located near the site of controversial Beit Yonathan, which was sold to Ateret Cohanim by the custodian of absentee properties, without a tender, according to the paper.
Earlier Wednesday, the municipality cancelled a vote to approve settler units to avoid further strain on diplomatic relations with the US, as US Secretary of State John Kerry was set to give a speech addressing his vision for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and a new United Nations Security Council resolution that reaffirmed that Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory are illegal under international law.
However, just ahead of Kerry's speech, a vote on the Silwan project took place, according to Israeli daily Haaretz.
The report also said that the Jerusalem municipality denied that Netanyahu had called for the earlier vote on the units in Ramon and Ramat Shlomo to be put off.
Israeli military bulldozers started Thursday morning razing Palestinian-owned lands in Shuafat and Beit Hanina villages in occupied Jerusalem as a prelude to expand the illegal settlement Ramat Shlomo.
According to the new expansion plan, 690 houses will be built in Ramat Shlomo.
Head of Shuafat village council Isehaq Said told the PIC reporter that Israeli occupation authorities confiscated large portions of land west of Shuafat and Beit Hanina villages with the aim of expanding the illegal settlement.
The confiscation of new lands in the two Palestinian villages led to a severe lack of agricultural land for local farmers and distorted the beautiful landscape, he pointed out.
He said that Israeli settlement expansion has been growing at the expense of the two villages’ lands despite the Israeli claims of postponing settlement construction, Said added.
Israeli decision to postpone settlement projects is only an attempt to manipulate the US administration, according to his statement.
Israel’s construction of settlements in occupied Jerusalem, which Palestinians seek as their future capital, and other Palestinian territories is illegal under international law.
Israel’s refusal to cease settlement-building activities has been widely condemned as an obstacle to achieving lasting peace between Israelis and Palestinians.
According to the new expansion plan, 690 houses will be built in Ramat Shlomo.
Head of Shuafat village council Isehaq Said told the PIC reporter that Israeli occupation authorities confiscated large portions of land west of Shuafat and Beit Hanina villages with the aim of expanding the illegal settlement.
The confiscation of new lands in the two Palestinian villages led to a severe lack of agricultural land for local farmers and distorted the beautiful landscape, he pointed out.
He said that Israeli settlement expansion has been growing at the expense of the two villages’ lands despite the Israeli claims of postponing settlement construction, Said added.
Israeli decision to postpone settlement projects is only an attempt to manipulate the US administration, according to his statement.
Israel’s construction of settlements in occupied Jerusalem, which Palestinians seek as their future capital, and other Palestinian territories is illegal under international law.
Israel’s refusal to cease settlement-building activities has been widely condemned as an obstacle to achieving lasting peace between Israelis and Palestinians.
27 dec 2016
Israel fears that the United States and France want to advance another pro-Palestine move before the Obama administration wraps up its term, Haaretz reported Monday.
Haaretz quoted a senior Israeli official in Occupied Jerusalem as stating that during Sunday’s security cabinet meeting, ministers were presented with an assessment that during the international conference of foreign ministers scheduled for January 15 in Paris as part of the French peace initiative, a series of decisions on the peace process will be made. These will immediately be brought to the UN Security Council for a vote and will be adopted there before January 20.
The move presented to the ministers led Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to tell the Likud ministers during their subsequent meeting that Friday’s vote in the Security Council on the settlements was not the end of the story and that there are possible other steps taken by the international community, the official added.
Representatives of the Foreign Ministry, the National Security Council, and others who attended the security cabinet meeting presented information indicating that the trend in talks between France, the U.S. and other countries in preparation for the foreign ministers’ meeting tended toward advancing such a move, he added.
According to the information that Israel has, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry wants to utilize the foreign ministers’ parley, which will be attended by representatives of dozens of countries, to deliver an address that presents his vision for the two-state solution.
The senior official said that Israel fears this address will include American principles for resolving the core issues of borders, refugees, security arrangements and Jerusalem.
It was such fears about the foreign ministers’ meeting in Paris that led Netanyahu to instruct his ministers to avoid public statements to the media about launching a wave of settlement construction or annexing parts of the West Bank in response to Friday’s Security Council resolution.
“The effort now is to see how to prevent such a move at the Paris conference,” the senior official said. “That’s why there is no need to provoke and no need to do anything to add fuel to this.”
Earlier on Sunday, Netanyahu summoned the US ambassador to Israel to clarify matters over the UN Security Council resolution condemning Israeli settlements.
Netanyahu has also stepped up the diplomatic response to the UN vote and ordered the government to freeze ties with the 12 countries that supported the resolution.
Haaretz quoted a senior Israeli official in Occupied Jerusalem as stating that during Sunday’s security cabinet meeting, ministers were presented with an assessment that during the international conference of foreign ministers scheduled for January 15 in Paris as part of the French peace initiative, a series of decisions on the peace process will be made. These will immediately be brought to the UN Security Council for a vote and will be adopted there before January 20.
The move presented to the ministers led Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to tell the Likud ministers during their subsequent meeting that Friday’s vote in the Security Council on the settlements was not the end of the story and that there are possible other steps taken by the international community, the official added.
Representatives of the Foreign Ministry, the National Security Council, and others who attended the security cabinet meeting presented information indicating that the trend in talks between France, the U.S. and other countries in preparation for the foreign ministers’ meeting tended toward advancing such a move, he added.
According to the information that Israel has, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry wants to utilize the foreign ministers’ parley, which will be attended by representatives of dozens of countries, to deliver an address that presents his vision for the two-state solution.
The senior official said that Israel fears this address will include American principles for resolving the core issues of borders, refugees, security arrangements and Jerusalem.
It was such fears about the foreign ministers’ meeting in Paris that led Netanyahu to instruct his ministers to avoid public statements to the media about launching a wave of settlement construction or annexing parts of the West Bank in response to Friday’s Security Council resolution.
“The effort now is to see how to prevent such a move at the Paris conference,” the senior official said. “That’s why there is no need to provoke and no need to do anything to add fuel to this.”
Earlier on Sunday, Netanyahu summoned the US ambassador to Israel to clarify matters over the UN Security Council resolution condemning Israeli settlements.
Netanyahu has also stepped up the diplomatic response to the UN vote and ordered the government to freeze ties with the 12 countries that supported the resolution.