24 dec 2018
In September, US President Donald Trump said a two-state solution is what 'works best' to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Education Minister Naftali Bennett says his far-right Bayit Yehudi party will oppose an endorsement of a Palestinian state even if it is included in a US President Donald Trump's Middle East peace plan.
While the specifics of his plan are still under wraps, Trump said in September he thinks a two-state solution is what “works best.” The president has branded his plan to end the decades-long conflict between Israel and the Palestinians "the deal of the century."
Speaking in an interview with an Israeli Military Radio broadcaster, Bennett said that while his party will hear out the planned Peace deal, it will ultimately oppose a solution that would see a Palestinian State set up in the West Bank. Bennett said he does not have the details of the peace plan inked in Washington.
Currently with eight seats in the Knesset, Bennett’s party is expected to gain additional two seats in the 2019 elections, according to a poll released last month by Israeli Channel 2 News.
In 2014, Bennett outlined what he called a “stability plan,” his proposed solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in an op-ed published by The Wall Street Journal . While he opposes an official Palestinian state as he made clear in the interview Sunday, he asserts that Palestinians living in certain areas in the West Bank should govern themselves, and that “Israel should not interfere in day-to-day governance.”
“Israel must allow Palestinians complete freedom of movement, which requires removing all roadblocks and checkpoints in the West Bank,” Bennett wrote, further suggesting Israel should dismantle the security barrier.
In September, Trump said he plans to unveil the Middle-East peace plan within four months. Last week, outgoing US ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley said she had read the proposed peace plan and that it is more detailed than previous plans. Haley did not say when the plan will be presented.
Education Minister Naftali Bennett says his far-right Bayit Yehudi party will oppose an endorsement of a Palestinian state even if it is included in a US President Donald Trump's Middle East peace plan.
While the specifics of his plan are still under wraps, Trump said in September he thinks a two-state solution is what “works best.” The president has branded his plan to end the decades-long conflict between Israel and the Palestinians "the deal of the century."
Speaking in an interview with an Israeli Military Radio broadcaster, Bennett said that while his party will hear out the planned Peace deal, it will ultimately oppose a solution that would see a Palestinian State set up in the West Bank. Bennett said he does not have the details of the peace plan inked in Washington.
Currently with eight seats in the Knesset, Bennett’s party is expected to gain additional two seats in the 2019 elections, according to a poll released last month by Israeli Channel 2 News.
In 2014, Bennett outlined what he called a “stability plan,” his proposed solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in an op-ed published by The Wall Street Journal . While he opposes an official Palestinian state as he made clear in the interview Sunday, he asserts that Palestinians living in certain areas in the West Bank should govern themselves, and that “Israel should not interfere in day-to-day governance.”
“Israel must allow Palestinians complete freedom of movement, which requires removing all roadblocks and checkpoints in the West Bank,” Bennett wrote, further suggesting Israel should dismantle the security barrier.
In September, Trump said he plans to unveil the Middle-East peace plan within four months. Last week, outgoing US ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley said she had read the proposed peace plan and that it is more detailed than previous plans. Haley did not say when the plan will be presented.
23 dec 2018
Hamas leader Sami Abu Zuhri on Saturday said that the US administration, through the deal of the century, is seeking to normalize the Arab-Israeli ties and make Israel's existence in the region as normal.
In an exclusive interview with Anadolu Agency in the Turkish capital, Ankara, Abu Zuhri said that the US-initiated plan aims to establish a Palestinian state in Gaza only.
"We reject this deal which seeks to undermine the Palestinian cause by taking the issues of Jerusalem and refugees off the table," he said.
"Our right extends to the whole Palestinian territories, not only the Gaza Strip," Abu Zuhri stressed. "Our major goal is not only Gaza, but the liberation of all Palestine."
Abu Zuhri added that the deal of the century is a plan for regional gains and has nothing to do with solving the Palestinian problem.
On Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's statements that a number of Arab states were seeking to normalize ties with Israel, Abu Zuhri said, "We should not be deceived by Netanyahu's claims."
According to the Hamas leader, Netanyahu is trying to show that Israel has the upper hand over the Arab region in an effort to evade the losses caused by the Palestinian resistance.
Asked about Hamas's opinion on the normalization wave witnessed in some Arab countries recently, Abu Zuhri stressed that welcoming Netanyahu in any Arab or Muslim state would give a pretext to the Israeli occupation to continue its crimes against the Palestinian people.
In another context, Abu Zuhri said that the head of Hamas's Political Bureau Ismail Haneyya will soon start a tour abroad that is scheduled to include a visit to Moscow.
Abu Zuhri said that Haneyya had received an official invitation to visit Moscow and attend meetings on bilateral relations and intra-Palestinian negotiations.
In response to a question on Russia's Foreign Ministry's announcement about a possible Hamas-Fatah meeting in Moscow, he said, "We have no information on this matter."
In an exclusive interview with Anadolu Agency in the Turkish capital, Ankara, Abu Zuhri said that the US-initiated plan aims to establish a Palestinian state in Gaza only.
"We reject this deal which seeks to undermine the Palestinian cause by taking the issues of Jerusalem and refugees off the table," he said.
"Our right extends to the whole Palestinian territories, not only the Gaza Strip," Abu Zuhri stressed. "Our major goal is not only Gaza, but the liberation of all Palestine."
Abu Zuhri added that the deal of the century is a plan for regional gains and has nothing to do with solving the Palestinian problem.
On Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's statements that a number of Arab states were seeking to normalize ties with Israel, Abu Zuhri said, "We should not be deceived by Netanyahu's claims."
According to the Hamas leader, Netanyahu is trying to show that Israel has the upper hand over the Arab region in an effort to evade the losses caused by the Palestinian resistance.
Asked about Hamas's opinion on the normalization wave witnessed in some Arab countries recently, Abu Zuhri stressed that welcoming Netanyahu in any Arab or Muslim state would give a pretext to the Israeli occupation to continue its crimes against the Palestinian people.
In another context, Abu Zuhri said that the head of Hamas's Political Bureau Ismail Haneyya will soon start a tour abroad that is scheduled to include a visit to Moscow.
Abu Zuhri said that Haneyya had received an official invitation to visit Moscow and attend meetings on bilateral relations and intra-Palestinian negotiations.
In response to a question on Russia's Foreign Ministry's announcement about a possible Hamas-Fatah meeting in Moscow, he said, "We have no information on this matter."
12 dec 2018
The much-anticipated Middle East peace plan, also known as “Deal of the Century,” will be released in the next couple of months, according to Jared Kushner, a senior White House adviser and son-in-law of the United States President Donald Trump.
Kushner spoke to Fox News, on late Monday, mentioning that the deal includes serious concessions from both sides, however, would protect Israeli security, while improving the living conditions of Palestinian Authority (PA) residents.
Kushner said, “We’re hopeful in the next couple of months we’ll put out our plan which not every side is going to love, but there’s enough in it and enough reasons why people should take it and move forward.”
He emphasized that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict “has gone on for way too long” and that the living conditions in the occupied West Bank and Gaza were “not acceptable,” adding “there’s a lot that we can be doing to improve their quality of life.”
“We’re focused now on the broader region, which is figuring out how to hopefully bring a deal together between the Israelis and Palestinians.”
Kushner also stressed that Israeli security concerns were a top consideration during the drafting of the peace plan and that it will provide safety to the Israeli people, as well as “a real opportunity and hope” to the Palestinians to live better lives.
“You shouldn’t be hijacking your children’s future because of your grandparent’s conflict,” Kushner noted.
Kushner spoke to Fox News, on late Monday, mentioning that the deal includes serious concessions from both sides, however, would protect Israeli security, while improving the living conditions of Palestinian Authority (PA) residents.
Kushner said, “We’re hopeful in the next couple of months we’ll put out our plan which not every side is going to love, but there’s enough in it and enough reasons why people should take it and move forward.”
He emphasized that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict “has gone on for way too long” and that the living conditions in the occupied West Bank and Gaza were “not acceptable,” adding “there’s a lot that we can be doing to improve their quality of life.”
“We’re focused now on the broader region, which is figuring out how to hopefully bring a deal together between the Israelis and Palestinians.”
Kushner also stressed that Israeli security concerns were a top consideration during the drafting of the peace plan and that it will provide safety to the Israeli people, as well as “a real opportunity and hope” to the Palestinians to live better lives.
“You shouldn’t be hijacking your children’s future because of your grandparent’s conflict,” Kushner noted.
26 nov 2018
by Yvonne Ridley
Layla Moran, the first British Member of Parliament of Palestinian descent, has urged the UK to “step up to the plate and lead” over the issue of Palestine given that the US President “can now in no way be considered an honest broker.”
The MP launched her scathing attack on Donald Trump in the light of the UN Relief and Works Agency’s efforts to cover its budget deficit. The US was UNRWA’s biggest donor, but Trump cut its funding in September, even though the agency provides essential education, healthcare and social services for millions of Palestinian refugees.
Moran’s mother, Randa, is a Christian Palestinian from Jerusalem and the MP still has family living in the West Bank city of Ramallah. Her British father’s diplomatic career took the family all over the world. Although the 35-year-old Oxford West and Abingdon MP usually downplays her Arab heritage, she has had a busy week defending Palestine and has secured a parliamentary debate on Palestinian Statehood to be held early next year. Furthermore, she seized an opportunity on Wednesday to challenge the Foreign Office on what it was doing after Trump’s move to cancel America’s donations to UNRWA.
Minister of State for the Middle East Alastair Burt is well aware that Trump’s funding cut will have a devastating impact on the five million Palestinians who rely on UNRWA; he is also a Minister of State for the Department of International Development. “The UK has made official-level representations to the EU and World Bank over the past three months on the position of UNRWA,” he responded to Moran’s question. “We will continue to work with UNRWA and our international partners to help ensure essential services are maintained, despite the United States’ withdrawal of funding.”
Moran, a Liberal Democrat MP who won her seat in the 2017 snap general election, asked if the British government will consider hosting a donor conference to make up the shortfall in funding. “Further, will they support my Palestinian statehood Bill, which I will be introducing to the House later today?”
Burt said that the recognition of Palestine remains a matter for the UK’s judgment in the best interests of “peace and the peace process”, although there is neither in the Middle East at the moment. As far as support for UNRWA is concerned, he added: “We continue to work with other donors and urge them to step in to assist in filling the gap in funding. We have done that with other states and we are doing that with the EU and the World Bank. We will continue to do so. We have increased our contribution this year to £57.5 million to help vulnerable Palestinians in relation to health and education. We will continue to support UNRWA.” He said nothing about government support for Moran’s Bill.
The LibDem MP’s performance earned praise from the new Palestinian Ambassador in London, Dr Husam Zumlot. “I spoke with Layla this morning and I welcomed what she did,” he told MEMO. “I called her immediately. She has a brilliant career of serving Britain and represents the very best of the relationship between our two countries.” He added that the debate on statehood will create the right atmosphere for a “just peace” in the Middle East as an entry point to discussion and an incentive to peacemaking.
Zumlot was the Palestine Liberation Organisation’s main diplomat in the United States until September, when the Trump administration closed the PLO’s office in Washington as part of an effort to block moves against Israel at the International Criminal Court.
The debate on Palestinian statehood is scheduled for Friday, 8 February and came about after Moran submitted her Bill on Wednesday to have Palestine recognised as a state officially by Britain. She told the media that she hopes that Britain will change its position on such recognition.
“Since I was elected I have been dismayed at the progress the Conservative Government has made towards recognising the state of Palestine,” she said in a statement issued to Anadolu Agency. “I am in favour of a two-state solution, but until the state of Palestine is recognised, the two actors can’t come to the table as equal partners.”
She added that it is “vital” for Britain to acknowledge the role that it has played in the current situation in Israel-Palestine being what it is, not least because of the Balfour Declaration, issued 101 years ago this month. “Whilst I appreciate that the UK recognising the state of Palestine alone won’t be a solution, doing it would go some way to reigniting the spark of hope that has gone out in the heart of Palestinians across the world.”
In 2012, the UN General Assembly granted Palestine the status of a non-member observer state. To date it has been recognised by 137 of the 193 countries in the world which are UN members.
Moran’s arrival as Britain’s first MP of Palestinian heritage raised eyebrows after she overturned a Conservative majority of almost 10,000 votes to win her Oxford seat by a narrow margin of 816 votes. When asked about her ethnicity she said at the time: “My Palestinian background has made me interested at a global level. Politics was always at the dinner table, it primed me to engage.”
She speaks four languages as well as English — French, Arabic, Spanish and Greek — and is not the only one in her family to enjoy a high profile. Her great-grandfather, Wasif Jawhariyyeh, was a celebrated writer who wrote extensive memoirs about Palestinian life under Ottoman and British rule, before fleeing Palestine after the State of Israel was created.
Just as she hopes that Britain will step up and take a lead on Palestine, activists seeking justice for the Palestinians hope that Layla Moran’s background will take on more significance in her political life. Not least, they say, so that she adopts a leading role in civil society campaigns to right the significant wrongs precipitated by Balfour and successive British governments since 1917. Her debate on Palestinian statehood will be a great place to start.
~Middle East Monitor/Days of Palestine
Layla Moran, the first British Member of Parliament of Palestinian descent, has urged the UK to “step up to the plate and lead” over the issue of Palestine given that the US President “can now in no way be considered an honest broker.”
The MP launched her scathing attack on Donald Trump in the light of the UN Relief and Works Agency’s efforts to cover its budget deficit. The US was UNRWA’s biggest donor, but Trump cut its funding in September, even though the agency provides essential education, healthcare and social services for millions of Palestinian refugees.
Moran’s mother, Randa, is a Christian Palestinian from Jerusalem and the MP still has family living in the West Bank city of Ramallah. Her British father’s diplomatic career took the family all over the world. Although the 35-year-old Oxford West and Abingdon MP usually downplays her Arab heritage, she has had a busy week defending Palestine and has secured a parliamentary debate on Palestinian Statehood to be held early next year. Furthermore, she seized an opportunity on Wednesday to challenge the Foreign Office on what it was doing after Trump’s move to cancel America’s donations to UNRWA.
Minister of State for the Middle East Alastair Burt is well aware that Trump’s funding cut will have a devastating impact on the five million Palestinians who rely on UNRWA; he is also a Minister of State for the Department of International Development. “The UK has made official-level representations to the EU and World Bank over the past three months on the position of UNRWA,” he responded to Moran’s question. “We will continue to work with UNRWA and our international partners to help ensure essential services are maintained, despite the United States’ withdrawal of funding.”
Moran, a Liberal Democrat MP who won her seat in the 2017 snap general election, asked if the British government will consider hosting a donor conference to make up the shortfall in funding. “Further, will they support my Palestinian statehood Bill, which I will be introducing to the House later today?”
Burt said that the recognition of Palestine remains a matter for the UK’s judgment in the best interests of “peace and the peace process”, although there is neither in the Middle East at the moment. As far as support for UNRWA is concerned, he added: “We continue to work with other donors and urge them to step in to assist in filling the gap in funding. We have done that with other states and we are doing that with the EU and the World Bank. We will continue to do so. We have increased our contribution this year to £57.5 million to help vulnerable Palestinians in relation to health and education. We will continue to support UNRWA.” He said nothing about government support for Moran’s Bill.
The LibDem MP’s performance earned praise from the new Palestinian Ambassador in London, Dr Husam Zumlot. “I spoke with Layla this morning and I welcomed what she did,” he told MEMO. “I called her immediately. She has a brilliant career of serving Britain and represents the very best of the relationship between our two countries.” He added that the debate on statehood will create the right atmosphere for a “just peace” in the Middle East as an entry point to discussion and an incentive to peacemaking.
Zumlot was the Palestine Liberation Organisation’s main diplomat in the United States until September, when the Trump administration closed the PLO’s office in Washington as part of an effort to block moves against Israel at the International Criminal Court.
The debate on Palestinian statehood is scheduled for Friday, 8 February and came about after Moran submitted her Bill on Wednesday to have Palestine recognised as a state officially by Britain. She told the media that she hopes that Britain will change its position on such recognition.
“Since I was elected I have been dismayed at the progress the Conservative Government has made towards recognising the state of Palestine,” she said in a statement issued to Anadolu Agency. “I am in favour of a two-state solution, but until the state of Palestine is recognised, the two actors can’t come to the table as equal partners.”
She added that it is “vital” for Britain to acknowledge the role that it has played in the current situation in Israel-Palestine being what it is, not least because of the Balfour Declaration, issued 101 years ago this month. “Whilst I appreciate that the UK recognising the state of Palestine alone won’t be a solution, doing it would go some way to reigniting the spark of hope that has gone out in the heart of Palestinians across the world.”
In 2012, the UN General Assembly granted Palestine the status of a non-member observer state. To date it has been recognised by 137 of the 193 countries in the world which are UN members.
Moran’s arrival as Britain’s first MP of Palestinian heritage raised eyebrows after she overturned a Conservative majority of almost 10,000 votes to win her Oxford seat by a narrow margin of 816 votes. When asked about her ethnicity she said at the time: “My Palestinian background has made me interested at a global level. Politics was always at the dinner table, it primed me to engage.”
She speaks four languages as well as English — French, Arabic, Spanish and Greek — and is not the only one in her family to enjoy a high profile. Her great-grandfather, Wasif Jawhariyyeh, was a celebrated writer who wrote extensive memoirs about Palestinian life under Ottoman and British rule, before fleeing Palestine after the State of Israel was created.
Just as she hopes that Britain will step up and take a lead on Palestine, activists seeking justice for the Palestinians hope that Layla Moran’s background will take on more significance in her political life. Not least, they say, so that she adopts a leading role in civil society campaigns to right the significant wrongs precipitated by Balfour and successive British governments since 1917. Her debate on Palestinian statehood will be a great place to start.
~Middle East Monitor/Days of Palestine
25 nov 2018
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has announced that half of its employees in the West Bank and Gaza will be laid off in the coming weeks, and by early 2019, the operations will be completely shut down.
Israeli officials reportedly voiced fears that such US decision would aggravate the humanitarian and security situation in Gaza and the occupied Palestinian territories, according to Haaretz newspaper.
The US department of state informed USAID last week that by next month the agency would have to present a list of 60 percent of its employees to be dismissed as the first step in the shutdown that will be finalized by 2019.
This US federal government agency handles civilian assistance to various countries around the world. It started operating in the West Bank and Gaza in 1994, focusing mainly on economic issues, including water, infrastructure, education and health.
USAID also buys medical equipment, provides humanitarian assistance to those in need of medical care and teaches lifesaving techniques to doctors from Gaza and the West Bank. In recent years USAID has conducted in-service education for teachers, built schools and worked on projects to keep young Palestinians in the education system.
After US president Donald Trump’s decided to freeze funding to various Palestinian relief organizations, dozens of USAID projects in the West Bank and Gaza were suspended, including those that had been partially completed.
Israeli security and military officials are reportedly concerned about the consequences of the suspension of USAID’s work.
Senior army officials already warned that the US suspension of financial assistance to UNRWA would worsen the situation in Gaza. UNRWA provides basic food to 1.3 million people in the Gaza Strip, 4 million doctor visits annually to Gaza residents and employs 12,000 teachers who teach about 300,000 children.
While aid to UNRWA is more significant than the USAID, the cessation of the activities of both agencies will lead to a decline in the humanitarian situation in the Strip and even to its collapse.
Such developments have prompted Israeli officials to warn that Israel would pay the price in terms of sanitation, security and economy.
Israeli officials reportedly voiced fears that such US decision would aggravate the humanitarian and security situation in Gaza and the occupied Palestinian territories, according to Haaretz newspaper.
The US department of state informed USAID last week that by next month the agency would have to present a list of 60 percent of its employees to be dismissed as the first step in the shutdown that will be finalized by 2019.
This US federal government agency handles civilian assistance to various countries around the world. It started operating in the West Bank and Gaza in 1994, focusing mainly on economic issues, including water, infrastructure, education and health.
USAID also buys medical equipment, provides humanitarian assistance to those in need of medical care and teaches lifesaving techniques to doctors from Gaza and the West Bank. In recent years USAID has conducted in-service education for teachers, built schools and worked on projects to keep young Palestinians in the education system.
After US president Donald Trump’s decided to freeze funding to various Palestinian relief organizations, dozens of USAID projects in the West Bank and Gaza were suspended, including those that had been partially completed.
Israeli security and military officials are reportedly concerned about the consequences of the suspension of USAID’s work.
Senior army officials already warned that the US suspension of financial assistance to UNRWA would worsen the situation in Gaza. UNRWA provides basic food to 1.3 million people in the Gaza Strip, 4 million doctor visits annually to Gaza residents and employs 12,000 teachers who teach about 300,000 children.
While aid to UNRWA is more significant than the USAID, the cessation of the activities of both agencies will lead to a decline in the humanitarian situation in the Strip and even to its collapse.
Such developments have prompted Israeli officials to warn that Israel would pay the price in terms of sanitation, security and economy.
The European Union (EU) condemned, on Saturday, Israel’s demolition of around 20 Palestinian-owned structures in Shufat refugee camp in occupied East Jerusalem, as well as the continued Israeli settlement expansion in the city.
Earlier this week, Israeli forces along with the Israeli Civil Administration staff and bulldozers stormed the Shufat refugee camp and carried out a demolition campaign, demolishing more than 20 Palestinian shops under the pretext that the shops were built without the difficult-to-obtain Israeli permit.
However, Israel rarely grants Palestinians permits to build in East Jerusalem, though the Jerusalem municipality has claimed that compared to the Jewish population, they receive a disproportionately low number of permit applications from Palestinian communities, which also see high approval ratings.
Maja Kocijancic, the spokesperson of the EU's High Representative Federica Mogherini, said in a statement, “The policy of settlement construction and expansion in East Jerusalem continues to undermine the possibility of a viable two-state solution, with Jerusalem as the future capital of both states, which is the only realistic way to achieve a just and lasting peace.”
Kocijancic also condemned Israel’s plans to build housing units in the East Jerusalem neighborhoods of Ramat Shlomo and Ramot.
Kocijancic stressed, “The European Union is strongly opposed to Israel’s settlement policy, illegal under international law, and actions taken in that context, such as forced transfers, evictions and demolitions.”
She added, “The EU expects the Israeli authorities to reconsider and reverse these decisions.”
Earlier this week, Israeli forces along with the Israeli Civil Administration staff and bulldozers stormed the Shufat refugee camp and carried out a demolition campaign, demolishing more than 20 Palestinian shops under the pretext that the shops were built without the difficult-to-obtain Israeli permit.
However, Israel rarely grants Palestinians permits to build in East Jerusalem, though the Jerusalem municipality has claimed that compared to the Jewish population, they receive a disproportionately low number of permit applications from Palestinian communities, which also see high approval ratings.
Maja Kocijancic, the spokesperson of the EU's High Representative Federica Mogherini, said in a statement, “The policy of settlement construction and expansion in East Jerusalem continues to undermine the possibility of a viable two-state solution, with Jerusalem as the future capital of both states, which is the only realistic way to achieve a just and lasting peace.”
Kocijancic also condemned Israel’s plans to build housing units in the East Jerusalem neighborhoods of Ramat Shlomo and Ramot.
Kocijancic stressed, “The European Union is strongly opposed to Israel’s settlement policy, illegal under international law, and actions taken in that context, such as forced transfers, evictions and demolitions.”
She added, “The EU expects the Israeli authorities to reconsider and reverse these decisions.”
24 nov 2018
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Friday said that his country is willing to mediate between the Palestinian Authority and Israel to resume peace talks.
"We confirm again our offer from several years ago to host a meeting between the Israeli and Palestinian leaders in Russia without any preconditions," Lavrov said, speaking at a conference in Rome.
In another context, Lavrov pointed out that Russia is aware of the efforts made by Egypt to achieve reconciliation between Fatah and Hamas.
Russia has repeatedly offered to lead peace talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, especially in 2017 when the United States announced its biased decision of recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.
Direct negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority have been suspended since April 2014 after Israel refused to halt the settlement construction in the Palestinian territories, recognize the 1967 borders, and release a number of long-serving Palestinian detainees from its jails.
"We confirm again our offer from several years ago to host a meeting between the Israeli and Palestinian leaders in Russia without any preconditions," Lavrov said, speaking at a conference in Rome.
In another context, Lavrov pointed out that Russia is aware of the efforts made by Egypt to achieve reconciliation between Fatah and Hamas.
Russia has repeatedly offered to lead peace talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, especially in 2017 when the United States announced its biased decision of recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.
Direct negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority have been suspended since April 2014 after Israel refused to halt the settlement construction in the Palestinian territories, recognize the 1967 borders, and release a number of long-serving Palestinian detainees from its jails.
