30 jan 2014
Norway's huge sovereign wealth fund, the world's largest, blacklisted two Israeli companies involved in construction of settlements in annexed East Jerusalem, the country's finance ministry said on Thursday.
The ban on investing in the firms revived a three-year prohibition on them that the Government Pension Fund of Norway had dropped in August last year.
The companies are Africa Israel Investments, an Israeli real estate developer, and its construction subsidiary Danya Cerbus.
The ministry cited the company's alleged "contribution to serious violations of individual rights in war or conflict through the construction of colonies in Occupied East Jerusalem," a territory where Israel's claims are not recognized by the international community.
The ban on investing in the firms revived a three-year prohibition on them that the Government Pension Fund of Norway had dropped in August last year.
The companies are Africa Israel Investments, an Israeli real estate developer, and its construction subsidiary Danya Cerbus.
The ministry cited the company's alleged "contribution to serious violations of individual rights in war or conflict through the construction of colonies in Occupied East Jerusalem," a territory where Israel's claims are not recognized by the international community.
The Israeli District Committee for Planning and Construction in Jerusalem held a crucial session on Wednesday to discuss an old scheme to establish building along the outskirts of Buraq Wall(Western Wall). According to the scheme, the building will be built on an archaeological sites along with parts of Buraq Wall area which will be lotted for offices and halls of the so-called “Wall Legacy Fund”.
The scheme was approved by the Israeli municipality and the committee in 2010.
It was supported by mayor of the municipality Nir Barakat, but infuriated the Jewish quarter, archeologists and engineers as the construction will be on the ruins of historic excavations, Maariv Daily Newspaper reported.
The newspaper pointed out that the central claim of the opponents is that the building will change the nature of the neighborhood and Wall, in addition it will affect the excavations carried out by Israeli occupation associations in the place.
Attorney Gilad Bren’, the representative of the Jewish quarter, stated, “it is a sacred place and those in charge of such projects should deal with them carefully.”
Buraq wall, formerly referred to as the ‘Wailing Wall’ and now more commonly known as the ‘Western Wall’ is the most sacred place for Jews who believe it to be the only surviving structure of the Herodian temple. For Muslims it is known as the Buraq Wall, for on the other side is where the Prophet Muhammed (peace and blessings of Allah be on him) tied the Buraq, the winged riding animal upon which he rode during the Night of Ascension.
The scheme was approved by the Israeli municipality and the committee in 2010.
It was supported by mayor of the municipality Nir Barakat, but infuriated the Jewish quarter, archeologists and engineers as the construction will be on the ruins of historic excavations, Maariv Daily Newspaper reported.
The newspaper pointed out that the central claim of the opponents is that the building will change the nature of the neighborhood and Wall, in addition it will affect the excavations carried out by Israeli occupation associations in the place.
Attorney Gilad Bren’, the representative of the Jewish quarter, stated, “it is a sacred place and those in charge of such projects should deal with them carefully.”
Buraq wall, formerly referred to as the ‘Wailing Wall’ and now more commonly known as the ‘Western Wall’ is the most sacred place for Jews who believe it to be the only surviving structure of the Herodian temple. For Muslims it is known as the Buraq Wall, for on the other side is where the Prophet Muhammed (peace and blessings of Allah be on him) tied the Buraq, the winged riding animal upon which he rode during the Night of Ascension.
29 jan 2014
Israeli Haaretz daily newspaper uncovered on Tuesday a new settlement plan of establishing a new settlement in the occupied city of Jaffa as part of significant efforts for Judaizing the city. The newspaper reported that the plan aims to build 12 housing units in" Bevet street", confirming that a settler group, that led by extremist "Yaakov Haimen, is responsible for the plan.
The group stated that it will encourage the Zionist settlers to live in the new planned neighborhood.
The first stage of the plan will include 12 homes built in Bevet street.
The leader of the project Haimen, who lives in the occupied Jerusalem after leaving the colonial settlement of Itamar, always encourages colonial judaizing projects in the occupied Palestinian territories.
The group stated that it will encourage the Zionist settlers to live in the new planned neighborhood.
The first stage of the plan will include 12 homes built in Bevet street.
The leader of the project Haimen, who lives in the occupied Jerusalem after leaving the colonial settlement of Itamar, always encourages colonial judaizing projects in the occupied Palestinian territories.
Dr. Mustafa Barghouthi, Secretary General of the Palestinian National Initiative, said that Israeli occupation has waged unprecedented deportation and Judaization campaign against occupied Jerusalem. MP Barghouti confirmed on Tuesday that 219 Palestinian houses were demolished in occupied Jerusalem, thirty-seven civilians were killed, and ten thousand housing units were established since the start of the negotiations process.
He stressed that the Israeli government took advantage of the ongoing negotiations to cover up its settlement and Judaization projects.
The settlement construction has increased by 143% compared to the period before the start of negotiations, he said, adding that occupation aims to impose a status quo.
The MP charged that this Israeli campaign targets Palestinian people, land and properties, referring to the recent arrest campaigns against dozens of Abu Dis and Alezariya's youths and minors.
The demolition of Palestinian houses and facilities in Issawiya and Beit Hanina towns in occupied Jerusalem came as part of Israeli government's ethnic cleansing policy.
For his part, Palestinian Legislative Council second deputy speaker Hassan Khreishe called on Palestinian Authority chairman Mahmoud Abbas to end security coordination between Israeli and Palestinian forces especially in light of the Israeli escalated attacks against Palestinian citizens and holy sites.
He stressed that occupation will never succeed to undermine Palestinian resistance's will and determination.
He stressed that the Israeli government took advantage of the ongoing negotiations to cover up its settlement and Judaization projects.
The settlement construction has increased by 143% compared to the period before the start of negotiations, he said, adding that occupation aims to impose a status quo.
The MP charged that this Israeli campaign targets Palestinian people, land and properties, referring to the recent arrest campaigns against dozens of Abu Dis and Alezariya's youths and minors.
The demolition of Palestinian houses and facilities in Issawiya and Beit Hanina towns in occupied Jerusalem came as part of Israeli government's ethnic cleansing policy.
For his part, Palestinian Legislative Council second deputy speaker Hassan Khreishe called on Palestinian Authority chairman Mahmoud Abbas to end security coordination between Israeli and Palestinian forces especially in light of the Israeli escalated attacks against Palestinian citizens and holy sites.
He stressed that occupation will never succeed to undermine Palestinian resistance's will and determination.
27 jan 2014
The Israeli supreme court rejected on Sunday an appeal filed by Palestinian citizens against the construction of a six-lane highway that would bisect their village of Beit Safafa in the south of occupied Jerusalem. The Israeli municipal council in occupied Jerusalem started in late 2012 to build this highway, the construction of which has rapidly advanced since then.
The Jerusalem district court had rejected in February a petition filed by residents of Beit Safafa against the road, which would split their village into two separate areas.
Consequently, the residents, later, had to file an appeal with the supreme court, which ruled in June that the Israeli municipal council must find a solution to the transportation problems that would arise from the building of this road.
The residents asked the supreme court to order the municipal council to either stop building the road, or to find other solutions in order to lessen the resulting harm, such as building bridges over the village's stretch of the highway in order to keep their area intact.
On Sunday, the residents were told that their appeal was declined and no solutions would be found to minimize the adverse impacts of the road on their lives.
If the road was finished, Beit Safafa residents would suffer heightened noise and pollution in addition to being cut off from basic services.
The road would cut off many families from the center of the village, forcing them to drive or walk a long way to visit their relatives or reach essential locations such as the mosque, grocery store and kindergarten.
The highway would connect the West Bank settlements of Gush Etzion in Bethlehem and southern Jerusalem to Israel's highway network.
The Jerusalem district court had rejected in February a petition filed by residents of Beit Safafa against the road, which would split their village into two separate areas.
Consequently, the residents, later, had to file an appeal with the supreme court, which ruled in June that the Israeli municipal council must find a solution to the transportation problems that would arise from the building of this road.
The residents asked the supreme court to order the municipal council to either stop building the road, or to find other solutions in order to lessen the resulting harm, such as building bridges over the village's stretch of the highway in order to keep their area intact.
On Sunday, the residents were told that their appeal was declined and no solutions would be found to minimize the adverse impacts of the road on their lives.
If the road was finished, Beit Safafa residents would suffer heightened noise and pollution in addition to being cut off from basic services.
The road would cut off many families from the center of the village, forcing them to drive or walk a long way to visit their relatives or reach essential locations such as the mosque, grocery store and kindergarten.
The highway would connect the West Bank settlements of Gush Etzion in Bethlehem and southern Jerusalem to Israel's highway network.
25 jan 2014
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Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, stated that Tel Aviv would not remove a single Israeli settlement in the occupied territories, and that any ideas proposed now to advance peace talks, “are just proposals.”
His statements came during the Davos Conference on Friday when he responded to a question about Israel’s settlements in the Jordan Valley in the occupied West Bank. His response referred to Israel’s settlements and settlement blocs, in the occupied territories, and not only the Jordan Valley. “I will not remove any settlement”, he said, “I will not uproot any Israeli”. |
Netanyahu stated that the United States just presented ideas and suggestions regarding a peaceful solution to the conflict.
Following the conference, Netanyahu held a meeting with US Secretary of State John Kerry, and discussed the political “process” between Tel Aviv and Ramallah.
He said Kerry is not talking about a framework agreement for a peace deal, but only presented ideas to Israeli and Palestinian leaders.
The statements came after Kerry said a frame agreement is closer than ever, and after a statement by the Palestinian President, Mahmoud Abbas, who said that peace talks are based on a full Israeli withdrawal from the territories Israel captured in 1967, including Jerusalem.
Commenting on BDS (Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions) campaigns around the world, the Israeli Prime Minister alleged that more international companies “are showing interest in investing in Israel.”
On his part, Kerry said that should direct peace talks collapse, the Israeli and Palestinians will be harmed by ongoing violence.
He also “warned” that, should the talks fail, “It will be impossible for Israel to continue its future as a Jewish democratic state”.
Kerry stated that the core issues the U.S. is working for are establishing an “independent” Palestinian state, security for Israel, a withdrawal of the Israeli army, and “an agreed solution to the issue of Palestinian refugees”.
He said that ending the conflict should be final; a full Palestinian recognition of the “Jewish State”, and an Israeli recognition of the “nation-state of the Palestinians”, Israeli daily, Haaretz, has reported.
The US official also said that Israel will become a strong state after achieving peace with the Palestinians, and that his government has a security plan for the borders between the occupied West Bank and Jordan.
There are more than 11.679 Jewish settlers living in the Jordan Valley, and more than 400.000 Jewish settlers living in Israel’s illegitimate settlements in the occupied West Bank, including occupied Jerusalem.
Israel’s settlements, built on Palestinian lands in the occupied West Bank, including in and around occupied East Jerusalem, are illegal under International Law, and, along with the Annexation Wall, have turned the Palestinian communities into isolated cantons separating the Palestinians from each other, and from their farmlands and orchards.
Settlements are also built in vital areas in Palestine, including hilltops, water and natural resources, especially in the Jordan Valley, depriving the Palestinians from basic rights, including the right to their own land.
Following the conference, Netanyahu held a meeting with US Secretary of State John Kerry, and discussed the political “process” between Tel Aviv and Ramallah.
He said Kerry is not talking about a framework agreement for a peace deal, but only presented ideas to Israeli and Palestinian leaders.
The statements came after Kerry said a frame agreement is closer than ever, and after a statement by the Palestinian President, Mahmoud Abbas, who said that peace talks are based on a full Israeli withdrawal from the territories Israel captured in 1967, including Jerusalem.
Commenting on BDS (Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions) campaigns around the world, the Israeli Prime Minister alleged that more international companies “are showing interest in investing in Israel.”
On his part, Kerry said that should direct peace talks collapse, the Israeli and Palestinians will be harmed by ongoing violence.
He also “warned” that, should the talks fail, “It will be impossible for Israel to continue its future as a Jewish democratic state”.
Kerry stated that the core issues the U.S. is working for are establishing an “independent” Palestinian state, security for Israel, a withdrawal of the Israeli army, and “an agreed solution to the issue of Palestinian refugees”.
He said that ending the conflict should be final; a full Palestinian recognition of the “Jewish State”, and an Israeli recognition of the “nation-state of the Palestinians”, Israeli daily, Haaretz, has reported.
The US official also said that Israel will become a strong state after achieving peace with the Palestinians, and that his government has a security plan for the borders between the occupied West Bank and Jordan.
There are more than 11.679 Jewish settlers living in the Jordan Valley, and more than 400.000 Jewish settlers living in Israel’s illegitimate settlements in the occupied West Bank, including occupied Jerusalem.
Israel’s settlements, built on Palestinian lands in the occupied West Bank, including in and around occupied East Jerusalem, are illegal under International Law, and, along with the Annexation Wall, have turned the Palestinian communities into isolated cantons separating the Palestinians from each other, and from their farmlands and orchards.
Settlements are also built in vital areas in Palestine, including hilltops, water and natural resources, especially in the Jordan Valley, depriving the Palestinians from basic rights, including the right to their own land.
24 jan 2014
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A Palestinian Authority (PA) official says the PA should shift its current function and become an anti-Israel “resistance authority.”
Israel’s Jerusalem Post newspaper quoted Mohammed Shtayyeh as saying on Wednesday that the PA “can’t continue in its present form. It should change its function to a resistance authority.” Shtayyeh recently resigned from the PA negotiating team in protest at the lack of progress in the US-brokered Israeli-Palestinian negotiations, which resumed in July 2013. He currently serves as senior advisor to acting PA Chief Mahmoud Abbas. The PA official further stated the Israeli-Palestinian talks “will end in failure” as Tel Aviv continues its illegal settlement activities in the occupied |
Palestinian territories, stressing, “No deal is better than a weak one.”
According to Shtayyeh, the PA chief is planning to seek membership at the United Nations after the failure of the talks with Israel in an effort to prosecute the Israeli regime over war crimes.
The Israeli regime has turned a cold shoulder to international calls for a halt in its illegal settlement expansion in the occupied Palestinian lands.
Tel Aviv’s settlement policy has also drawn angry reactions from European countries, including Britain, Italy, France and Spain, which summoned Israeli envoys to their countries in protest at the regime’s illegal settlement plans earlier this month.
More than half a million Israelis live in over 120 illegal settlements built since Israel’s occupation of the Palestinian territories of the West Bank and East al-Quds (Jerusalem) in 1967.
Abbas has stated that the Israeli regime has been using the talks as a “cover” to expand the settlements in the occupied West Bank.
According to Shtayyeh, the PA chief is planning to seek membership at the United Nations after the failure of the talks with Israel in an effort to prosecute the Israeli regime over war crimes.
The Israeli regime has turned a cold shoulder to international calls for a halt in its illegal settlement expansion in the occupied Palestinian lands.
Tel Aviv’s settlement policy has also drawn angry reactions from European countries, including Britain, Italy, France and Spain, which summoned Israeli envoys to their countries in protest at the regime’s illegal settlement plans earlier this month.
More than half a million Israelis live in over 120 illegal settlements built since Israel’s occupation of the Palestinian territories of the West Bank and East al-Quds (Jerusalem) in 1967.
Abbas has stated that the Israeli regime has been using the talks as a “cover” to expand the settlements in the occupied West Bank.
Germany is insisting that research support and cooperation with Israel exclude Jewish settlements built on Palestinian land, Israeli media said Thursday, weeks ahead of a visit by German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
According to the report in Haaretz daily, Berlin's decision "represents a significant escalation in European measures against the settlements" in east Jerusalem and the West Bank.
Haaretz notes that a 1986 treaty of the German-Israeli Foundation for Scientific Research and Development states that the foundation will only sponsor projects "within the geographic areas under the jurisdiction of the State of Israel" prior to the 1967 Middle East war.
The Germans want to apply that clause to the "German-Israeli funding program (DIP)", an agreement signed in 1970 that is renewed annually on March 31, as well as to an agreement between the states providing "German funding for industrial and applied research and development," Haaretz said.
Merkel is due in Israel at the end of next month.
Germany's steadfast support of Israel has been a constant since World War II in atonement for its Nazi past, and Berlin is widely seen as Israel's closest ally in Europe.
Haaretz said the German demand was effectively extending the settlement ban to "private companies" in occupied territories.
But an Israeli diplomatic source told AFP there was "nothing new here" since "the territorial limitations have applied since 1986 and nothing has changed."
And a spokeswoman for the German foreign ministry said Berlin had "a great interest in continuing and expanding scientific cooperation with Israel."
Palestinian gov't hails Germany's anti-settlement position
Palestinian government hailed the actions taken by the German government that refuse trade dealings with Israeli institutions involved in settlement activities in the West Bank and east Jerusalem.
Basem Naim, the premier's adviser for foreign Affairs, described such decision a step in the right direction. "We hope that these actions will be followed by other steps in support of the Palestinian people's struggle for freedom and for the establishment of their independent state with Jerusalem as its capital. We also hope that other countries will follow and develop such measures in order to dismantle all the settlements," Naim said.
He also hailed all the public and private bodies which are leading a campaign to boycott and isolate Israel, in order to force it recognize the rights of the Palestinian people and stop its continued aggression and crimes.
According to the report in Haaretz daily, Berlin's decision "represents a significant escalation in European measures against the settlements" in east Jerusalem and the West Bank.
Haaretz notes that a 1986 treaty of the German-Israeli Foundation for Scientific Research and Development states that the foundation will only sponsor projects "within the geographic areas under the jurisdiction of the State of Israel" prior to the 1967 Middle East war.
The Germans want to apply that clause to the "German-Israeli funding program (DIP)", an agreement signed in 1970 that is renewed annually on March 31, as well as to an agreement between the states providing "German funding for industrial and applied research and development," Haaretz said.
Merkel is due in Israel at the end of next month.
Germany's steadfast support of Israel has been a constant since World War II in atonement for its Nazi past, and Berlin is widely seen as Israel's closest ally in Europe.
Haaretz said the German demand was effectively extending the settlement ban to "private companies" in occupied territories.
But an Israeli diplomatic source told AFP there was "nothing new here" since "the territorial limitations have applied since 1986 and nothing has changed."
And a spokeswoman for the German foreign ministry said Berlin had "a great interest in continuing and expanding scientific cooperation with Israel."
Palestinian gov't hails Germany's anti-settlement position
Palestinian government hailed the actions taken by the German government that refuse trade dealings with Israeli institutions involved in settlement activities in the West Bank and east Jerusalem.
Basem Naim, the premier's adviser for foreign Affairs, described such decision a step in the right direction. "We hope that these actions will be followed by other steps in support of the Palestinian people's struggle for freedom and for the establishment of their independent state with Jerusalem as its capital. We also hope that other countries will follow and develop such measures in order to dismantle all the settlements," Naim said.
He also hailed all the public and private bodies which are leading a campaign to boycott and isolate Israel, in order to force it recognize the rights of the Palestinian people and stop its continued aggression and crimes.
by Saeb Erekat
International law does not allow acquiring land through the use of force. The Fourth Geneva Convention prohibits Israel, as an occupying power, from directly or indirectly transferring its citizens into occupied Palestinian territory. The International Court of Justice ruled in 2004 that Israel's settlement policy violates that convention. The Rome statute of the International Criminal Court makes Israel's illegal settlement policy a war crime.
But Australia's Foreign Minister, Julie Bishop, wants to reinvent international law and call Israeli settlements legal. Or what else was Bishop trying to accomplish by showing her support to Israeli settlements?
Authorities must respect the commitments of their countries before the international community. Australia has thus far been a responsible member of that community. It ratified the Fourth Geneva Convention, the Rome statute and various other human rights conventions that Israel systemically violates by occupying Palestine.
If Bishop wanted to show solidarity with an occupation that harms the rights of an occupied population, she did well. I would be unsurprised if her next step was a cup of coffee with her Israeli counterpart, Avigdor Lieberman, in the illegal settlement of Nokdim, where he lives, in land stolen from Bethlehem.
If Bishop wanted to make Australia a stronger voice within the international community, she certainly did wrong. The latest votes in the United Nations show that Australia, Canada and the US, joined by Micronesia, Tuvalu and Marshall Islands, are the only countries that would not favour a resolution declaring settlements illegal. Regardless of the vote, Australia is now the only country, other than Israel, to state publicly that settlements are not illegal. Bishop's statement came 15 days after the European Union began to apply its guidelines on Israeli settlements, preventing those colonies in occupied Palestinian land from benefiting from EU-Israeli relations.
If Bishop wanted to enhance Australia's international standing, she did wrong. International civil society organisations, including those in Australia, continue to advance campaigns to disinvest from the Israeli occupation, something we Palestinians fully support and encourage. At a time when companies, churches and other organisations around the world are disengaging from the Israeli occupation, Australia is engaging with this illegal enterprise.
If Bishop wanted to support the negotiations process, she did the opposite. It is precisely due to Israeli settlement expansion that most of the Arab world doubts that negotiations will succeed. The terms of reference for negotiations do not include legitimising illegal Israeli settlements, but ending the Israeli occupation that began in 1967. As the International Court of Justice has ruled, the Israeli settlement regime - including the wall that de facto annexes most of the settlements to Israel - denies the Palestinian people its inalienable right to self-determination. Let me be very clear: there is no room for a two-state solution in the presence of Israeli settlements.
The same day that Bishop made her comment, Israeli settlers burnt a mosque near Salfit. In occupied Palestine, Palestinians continue to be denied their right to access their churches and mosques, their land and natural resources, their schools, hospitals and places of work due to the Israeli settlement enterprise. Thousands of families have been divided, been evicted, had their land confiscated or houses demolished under policies that Australian diplomats continue to report back to Canberra, all of which are part of Israel's settlement enterprise.
Israeli settlements are not leading to a two-state solution but to a two-system, one-state reality, where a minority of Israeli Jews control the lives of a majority of Palestinian Christians and Muslims. One wonders how Bishop will explain her statement to the thousands of Australian-Palestinians who have been personally affected by Israel's colonisation policies. She can be assured that the victims of that colonisation, the residents of Bil'in, Sheikh Jarrah, Khirbet Makhoul, Silwan, Hebron, Bethlehem, Beit Jala, Nablus, Salfit, Huwara and countless other Palestinian cities and villages, are wondering when the international community will muster the determination to end Israel's impunity and give peace a chance. The answer, clearly, won't come from those who support apartheid over peace.
Dr Saeb Erekat is Palestine's main negotiator and a member of the Palestinian Liberation Organisation's executive committee. This Op-Ed was printed by The Canberra Times
International law does not allow acquiring land through the use of force. The Fourth Geneva Convention prohibits Israel, as an occupying power, from directly or indirectly transferring its citizens into occupied Palestinian territory. The International Court of Justice ruled in 2004 that Israel's settlement policy violates that convention. The Rome statute of the International Criminal Court makes Israel's illegal settlement policy a war crime.
But Australia's Foreign Minister, Julie Bishop, wants to reinvent international law and call Israeli settlements legal. Or what else was Bishop trying to accomplish by showing her support to Israeli settlements?
Authorities must respect the commitments of their countries before the international community. Australia has thus far been a responsible member of that community. It ratified the Fourth Geneva Convention, the Rome statute and various other human rights conventions that Israel systemically violates by occupying Palestine.
If Bishop wanted to show solidarity with an occupation that harms the rights of an occupied population, she did well. I would be unsurprised if her next step was a cup of coffee with her Israeli counterpart, Avigdor Lieberman, in the illegal settlement of Nokdim, where he lives, in land stolen from Bethlehem.
If Bishop wanted to make Australia a stronger voice within the international community, she certainly did wrong. The latest votes in the United Nations show that Australia, Canada and the US, joined by Micronesia, Tuvalu and Marshall Islands, are the only countries that would not favour a resolution declaring settlements illegal. Regardless of the vote, Australia is now the only country, other than Israel, to state publicly that settlements are not illegal. Bishop's statement came 15 days after the European Union began to apply its guidelines on Israeli settlements, preventing those colonies in occupied Palestinian land from benefiting from EU-Israeli relations.
If Bishop wanted to enhance Australia's international standing, she did wrong. International civil society organisations, including those in Australia, continue to advance campaigns to disinvest from the Israeli occupation, something we Palestinians fully support and encourage. At a time when companies, churches and other organisations around the world are disengaging from the Israeli occupation, Australia is engaging with this illegal enterprise.
If Bishop wanted to support the negotiations process, she did the opposite. It is precisely due to Israeli settlement expansion that most of the Arab world doubts that negotiations will succeed. The terms of reference for negotiations do not include legitimising illegal Israeli settlements, but ending the Israeli occupation that began in 1967. As the International Court of Justice has ruled, the Israeli settlement regime - including the wall that de facto annexes most of the settlements to Israel - denies the Palestinian people its inalienable right to self-determination. Let me be very clear: there is no room for a two-state solution in the presence of Israeli settlements.
The same day that Bishop made her comment, Israeli settlers burnt a mosque near Salfit. In occupied Palestine, Palestinians continue to be denied their right to access their churches and mosques, their land and natural resources, their schools, hospitals and places of work due to the Israeli settlement enterprise. Thousands of families have been divided, been evicted, had their land confiscated or houses demolished under policies that Australian diplomats continue to report back to Canberra, all of which are part of Israel's settlement enterprise.
Israeli settlements are not leading to a two-state solution but to a two-system, one-state reality, where a minority of Israeli Jews control the lives of a majority of Palestinian Christians and Muslims. One wonders how Bishop will explain her statement to the thousands of Australian-Palestinians who have been personally affected by Israel's colonisation policies. She can be assured that the victims of that colonisation, the residents of Bil'in, Sheikh Jarrah, Khirbet Makhoul, Silwan, Hebron, Bethlehem, Beit Jala, Nablus, Salfit, Huwara and countless other Palestinian cities and villages, are wondering when the international community will muster the determination to end Israel's impunity and give peace a chance. The answer, clearly, won't come from those who support apartheid over peace.
Dr Saeb Erekat is Palestine's main negotiator and a member of the Palestinian Liberation Organisation's executive committee. This Op-Ed was printed by The Canberra Times
23 jan 2014
A senior Palestinian official said Thursday that Israel was responsible for destroying the peace process and the two-state solution.
After holding a series of meetings with foreign ministers and ambassadors, Chief PLO Negotiator Saeb Erekat said that unless the international community started holding Israel responsible for its actions, any chance for a two-state solution would be lost.
Erekat condemned ongoing Israeli settlement activity, which he said was a message from Israel to US Secretary of State John Kerry to stop making efforts toward peace.
He also denounced Israel's recent airstrikes against the Gaza Strip, and warned the Israeli government of the repercussions of any military escalation. He said the strikes were also based on an Israeli policy to foil peace efforts.
Earlier Thursday, Erekat met with Australian Shadow Minister of Foreign Affairs Tanya Plibersek, UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Robert Serry, New Zealand's ambassador in Turkey and Palestine Taha MacPherson, and a German delegation.
On Wednesday, Peace Now announced that Israel was planning 256 housing units in two settlements across the West Bank.
Also Wednesday, an Israeli airstrike killed two Palestinians in the northern Gaza Strip, including one accused by Israel of ordering rocket attacks.
After holding a series of meetings with foreign ministers and ambassadors, Chief PLO Negotiator Saeb Erekat said that unless the international community started holding Israel responsible for its actions, any chance for a two-state solution would be lost.
Erekat condemned ongoing Israeli settlement activity, which he said was a message from Israel to US Secretary of State John Kerry to stop making efforts toward peace.
He also denounced Israel's recent airstrikes against the Gaza Strip, and warned the Israeli government of the repercussions of any military escalation. He said the strikes were also based on an Israeli policy to foil peace efforts.
Earlier Thursday, Erekat met with Australian Shadow Minister of Foreign Affairs Tanya Plibersek, UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Robert Serry, New Zealand's ambassador in Turkey and Palestine Taha MacPherson, and a German delegation.
On Wednesday, Peace Now announced that Israel was planning 256 housing units in two settlements across the West Bank.
Also Wednesday, an Israeli airstrike killed two Palestinians in the northern Gaza Strip, including one accused by Israel of ordering rocket attacks.
The German government provided the continued grants to Israeli high-tech companies, as well as the renewal of a scientific cooperation agreement, on the inclusion of a territorial clause stating that Israeli entities located in the West Bank settlements or east Jerusalem will not be eligible for funding, Haaretz reported. Israel fears the German move will lead other European Union member states to follow suit. “Germany will set an example for the rest of the world,” A senior Israeli Foreign Ministry official said.
"If Israel continues with the settlements and talks fail, there might be a situation where Israel finds itself more isolated," The EU official to Israel , Lars Faaborg-Andersen warned Israel , referring to a consumer boycott of Israeli goods manufactured in the West Bank.
"It will not be a result of decisions by governments but by the private sector and consumers," he said .
Andersen explained that whenever Israel announces new buildings in the settlement , it fuels the discourse in Europe. "The cause for labeling Israeli settlement products is gaining momentum," he said.
Faaborg-Andersen: Israel's settlement construction will isolate it further
EU Ambassador to occupied Palestine Lars Faaborg-Andersen warned that Israel would face further economic isolation in Europe if it persisted in its settlement expansion and its peace talks with the Palestinians failed. Faaborg-Andersen told news reporters on Wednesday that the European momentum for further sanctions on Israel could grow if peace efforts fail.
"We have made it clear to the parties that there will be a price to pay if these negotiations falter," Faaborg-Andersen said.
"If Israel were to go down the road of continued settlement expansion ... I'm afraid that what will transpire is a situation in which Israel will find itself increasingly isolated, not necessarily because of any decision taken at a governmental level but because of decisions taken by a myriad of private economic actors," he added.
The EU official affirmed Israel's burgeoning isolation has mainly resulted from commercial considerations and the European focus on "corporate social responsibility."
A growing number of European businesses and pension funds have started to drop investments or limit trade with Israeli firms involved in settlement activities in the West Bank.
"If Israel continues with the settlements and talks fail, there might be a situation where Israel finds itself more isolated," The EU official to Israel , Lars Faaborg-Andersen warned Israel , referring to a consumer boycott of Israeli goods manufactured in the West Bank.
"It will not be a result of decisions by governments but by the private sector and consumers," he said .
Andersen explained that whenever Israel announces new buildings in the settlement , it fuels the discourse in Europe. "The cause for labeling Israeli settlement products is gaining momentum," he said.
Faaborg-Andersen: Israel's settlement construction will isolate it further
EU Ambassador to occupied Palestine Lars Faaborg-Andersen warned that Israel would face further economic isolation in Europe if it persisted in its settlement expansion and its peace talks with the Palestinians failed. Faaborg-Andersen told news reporters on Wednesday that the European momentum for further sanctions on Israel could grow if peace efforts fail.
"We have made it clear to the parties that there will be a price to pay if these negotiations falter," Faaborg-Andersen said.
"If Israel were to go down the road of continued settlement expansion ... I'm afraid that what will transpire is a situation in which Israel will find itself increasingly isolated, not necessarily because of any decision taken at a governmental level but because of decisions taken by a myriad of private economic actors," he added.
The EU official affirmed Israel's burgeoning isolation has mainly resulted from commercial considerations and the European focus on "corporate social responsibility."
A growing number of European businesses and pension funds have started to drop investments or limit trade with Israeli firms involved in settlement activities in the West Bank.
22 jan 2014
Israel on Wednesday moved forward with plans for 261 new homes in two settlements located deep in the occupied West Bank, a watchdog said, drawing strong European condemnation.
It was the fifth such move in just over two weeks and raised to 2,791 the number of new settler homes announced since the start of the year, threatening to derail faltering US-brokered peace talks with the Palestinians.
Israel's rapid settlement expansion has angered Palestinian negotiators and drawn condemnation from the international community, threatening peace talks that US Secretary of State John Kerry kick-started in July.
EU envoy to Israel Lars Faaborg-Andersen said continued settlement building would isolate the Jewish state, which he warned would be held accountable for a failure of peace talks.
"If Israel were to go down the road of continued settlement expansion and were there not to be any result from the current talks, I'm afraid that what will transpire is a situation in which Israel will find itself increasingly isolated," Faaborg-Andersen told journalists in Jerusalem.
"If the talks are wrecked as a result of Israeli settlement announcements, then the blame will be put squarely on Israel's doorstep," he said.
"You are eating away at the cake that you are discussing how to slice up."
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last week accused the EU of a "hypocritical" attitude toward the Middle East peace process, saying it should be more concerned by Palestinian militancy than Israeli housing construction.
The new plans include 256 housing units in the Nofei Prat settlement, between Jerusalem and Jericho, and another five in the sprawling Ariel settlement in the north, the group said.
"The addition of 256 housing units to the small, isolated settlement of Nofei Prat dramatically changes the settlement, expanding its size and population significantly. In fact, these planned units will nearly triple the size of Nofei Prat," Peace Now said in a statement.
Construction would be allowed to start "without further political approval or public awareness," it added.
"Every day that Kerry isn't in the region, the government announces construction of new settlements," Peace Now spokesman Lior Amihai told AFP.
Kerry has visited the region 10 times since March to coax the two sides towards a final peace agreement, but the talks continue to falter ahead of an agreed April deadline.
Israel moved ahead on Tuesday with plans for 381 homes for West Bank settlers, prompting Palestinian charges it was more interested in building settlements than reaching a peace agreement.
It also pushed ahead with plans for a second visitors' center at an archaeological site in Silwan, a densely-populated Arab neighborhood of annexed east Jerusalem, Peace Now said.
And on January 6, Israel approved plans for 272 new homes in various West Bank settlements. Four days later, it unveiled plans for more than 1,877 new units, some in east Jerusalem.
Israel and the Palestinians embarked on nine months of direct negotiations in late July at the urging of Kerry.
But over the past six months, Israel has not slowed its construction on land the Palestinians want for a future state.
It was the fifth such move in just over two weeks and raised to 2,791 the number of new settler homes announced since the start of the year, threatening to derail faltering US-brokered peace talks with the Palestinians.
Israel's rapid settlement expansion has angered Palestinian negotiators and drawn condemnation from the international community, threatening peace talks that US Secretary of State John Kerry kick-started in July.
EU envoy to Israel Lars Faaborg-Andersen said continued settlement building would isolate the Jewish state, which he warned would be held accountable for a failure of peace talks.
"If Israel were to go down the road of continued settlement expansion and were there not to be any result from the current talks, I'm afraid that what will transpire is a situation in which Israel will find itself increasingly isolated," Faaborg-Andersen told journalists in Jerusalem.
"If the talks are wrecked as a result of Israeli settlement announcements, then the blame will be put squarely on Israel's doorstep," he said.
"You are eating away at the cake that you are discussing how to slice up."
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last week accused the EU of a "hypocritical" attitude toward the Middle East peace process, saying it should be more concerned by Palestinian militancy than Israeli housing construction.
The new plans include 256 housing units in the Nofei Prat settlement, between Jerusalem and Jericho, and another five in the sprawling Ariel settlement in the north, the group said.
"The addition of 256 housing units to the small, isolated settlement of Nofei Prat dramatically changes the settlement, expanding its size and population significantly. In fact, these planned units will nearly triple the size of Nofei Prat," Peace Now said in a statement.
Construction would be allowed to start "without further political approval or public awareness," it added.
"Every day that Kerry isn't in the region, the government announces construction of new settlements," Peace Now spokesman Lior Amihai told AFP.
Kerry has visited the region 10 times since March to coax the two sides towards a final peace agreement, but the talks continue to falter ahead of an agreed April deadline.
Israel moved ahead on Tuesday with plans for 381 homes for West Bank settlers, prompting Palestinian charges it was more interested in building settlements than reaching a peace agreement.
It also pushed ahead with plans for a second visitors' center at an archaeological site in Silwan, a densely-populated Arab neighborhood of annexed east Jerusalem, Peace Now said.
And on January 6, Israel approved plans for 272 new homes in various West Bank settlements. Four days later, it unveiled plans for more than 1,877 new units, some in east Jerusalem.
Israel and the Palestinians embarked on nine months of direct negotiations in late July at the urging of Kerry.
But over the past six months, Israel has not slowed its construction on land the Palestinians want for a future state.
Israeli municipality of occupied Jerusalem declared on Tuesday its intention to establish 1,700 new housing units in a neighborhood south of the city. According to Yediot Ahronot Hebrew newspaper, the Israeli Planning and Building Committee affiliated with the occupation municipality will discuss the plans for the new neighborhood, which will be named Moradot Arnona, on Wednesday.
The plan came three years after Israeli former Interior Minister Eli Yishai and Mayor Nir Barkat's approval to expand Jerusalem's planning structure with 290 more dunums, the newspaper added.
The Hebrew newspaper stated that the Israeli Land Authority has participated in financing the project.
Barkat claimed that the project aims at "providing a response to the many young couples who wish to live in Jerusalem."
The plan came three years after Israeli former Interior Minister Eli Yishai and Mayor Nir Barkat's approval to expand Jerusalem's planning structure with 290 more dunums, the newspaper added.
The Hebrew newspaper stated that the Israeli Land Authority has participated in financing the project.
Barkat claimed that the project aims at "providing a response to the many young couples who wish to live in Jerusalem."
The Aqsa Foundation for Endowments and Heritage revealed in a report on Wednesday that the occupation has begun new excavations in Wadi Hilweh in Silwan, only few tens of meters south of Al-Aqsa Mosque. The Foundation said that the occupation is destroying ancient Islamic monuments in the area, and that earlier it had destroyed an Islamic cemetery adjacent to the site.
It added that the Israeli Antiquities Authority has started excavations funded by Elad Association, at the entrance to Wadi Hilweh neighborhood, in a confiscated Palestinian land that had been used for many years as parking.
It said in its statement that these excavations came within the preparations for the construction of a biblical center, with the support of Netanyahu government.
The Aqsa Foundation warned of the seriousness of these excavations, through which the occupation seeks to destroy and obliterate the Islamic landmarks in the vicinity of Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Old City of Jerusalem, and to isolate Al-Aqsa from its Palestinian surroundings.
It has called on all the concerned Islamic and Arab bodies to confront the Israeli Judaization plans that are targeting Jerusalem and Al-Aqsa Mosque.
It added that the Israeli Antiquities Authority has started excavations funded by Elad Association, at the entrance to Wadi Hilweh neighborhood, in a confiscated Palestinian land that had been used for many years as parking.
It said in its statement that these excavations came within the preparations for the construction of a biblical center, with the support of Netanyahu government.
The Aqsa Foundation warned of the seriousness of these excavations, through which the occupation seeks to destroy and obliterate the Islamic landmarks in the vicinity of Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Old City of Jerusalem, and to isolate Al-Aqsa from its Palestinian surroundings.
It has called on all the concerned Islamic and Arab bodies to confront the Israeli Judaization plans that are targeting Jerusalem and Al-Aqsa Mosque.
21 jan 2014
The Amona colonial outpost
So-called ‘Mateh Binyamin Regional Council’ in the occupied West Bank disbursed $15 million over five years to several settler houses, Israeli media reported. According to a Haaretz report, ‘Mateh Binyamin’ receives tens of millions of shekels from government each year to help maintain the outposts.
The council has authority over several colonial outposts –rendered illegal by the Israeli government- including Adei Ad, Amona, Bnei Adam, Esh Kodesh, Haresha and Hayovel and houses 50,000 inhabitants.
The daily said the council allocated a total of 51 million shekels to outposts in its annual budgets from 2008-2012.
The Israeli occupation continues colonial settlement building in the occupied West Bank and Jerusalem although Fatah-dominated Palestinian Liberation Organization demanded a freeze in settlement activity as a condition to resume negotiations.
So-called ‘Mateh Binyamin Regional Council’ in the occupied West Bank disbursed $15 million over five years to several settler houses, Israeli media reported. According to a Haaretz report, ‘Mateh Binyamin’ receives tens of millions of shekels from government each year to help maintain the outposts.
The council has authority over several colonial outposts –rendered illegal by the Israeli government- including Adei Ad, Amona, Bnei Adam, Esh Kodesh, Haresha and Hayovel and houses 50,000 inhabitants.
The daily said the council allocated a total of 51 million shekels to outposts in its annual budgets from 2008-2012.
The Israeli occupation continues colonial settlement building in the occupied West Bank and Jerusalem although Fatah-dominated Palestinian Liberation Organization demanded a freeze in settlement activity as a condition to resume negotiations.
The Israeli government on Monday approved a renewed plan to build 381 additional housing units and facilities in Givat Ze'ev settlement, north of occupied Jerusalem. Specialist in settlement affairs Ahmed Sub Laban said that the Israeli government's district committee for planning and construction in Jerusalem sanctioned the settlement project numbered "220/23," which aims to add a residential area to Givat Ze'ev settlement and join it with the bypass 443.
Sub Laban noted that the government submitted its plan for public objection before executing it on the ground.
He affirmed that the district committee for planning and construction in Jerusalem discussed this revived plan in more detail a few days ago, in addition to a number of settlement projects in different areas of the West Bank and east Jerusalem.
The settlement specialist expressed his belief that Israel wants to resuscitate some old unimplemented settlement projects in the West Bank and east Jerusalem in order to tighten its grip on the outer circle of Jerusalem and separate it from the West Bank.
He also said that this plan includes the construction of residential and large public buildings, as well as educational and commercial facilities on an area of 171 dunums of annexed Palestinian land.
Sub Laban noted that the government submitted its plan for public objection before executing it on the ground.
He affirmed that the district committee for planning and construction in Jerusalem discussed this revived plan in more detail a few days ago, in addition to a number of settlement projects in different areas of the West Bank and east Jerusalem.
The settlement specialist expressed his belief that Israel wants to resuscitate some old unimplemented settlement projects in the West Bank and east Jerusalem in order to tighten its grip on the outer circle of Jerusalem and separate it from the West Bank.
He also said that this plan includes the construction of residential and large public buildings, as well as educational and commercial facilities on an area of 171 dunums of annexed Palestinian land.
20 jan 2014
Member of the Executive Committee of the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO), Dr. Hanan Ashrawi, strongly denounced statements made by Australian FM, Julie Bishop, who criticized what she called “European pressure on Israel’.
Bishop recently lashed out on officials and countries of the European Union for trying to pressure Israel into halting its settlement construction and expansion activities in occupied Palestine.
Dr. Ashrawy said that the shift in Australia’s Foreign Policy is very serious, and contradicts international resolutions and treaties, including International Law and the Fourth Geneva Convention, regarding the illegality of Israel’s settlements.
“I would like to remind the Australian government that International Law, and International Humanitarian Law, deem all settlements illegal”, the Palestinian official said, “Article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention, and Article 43 of the International Court clearly state Israel is violating international laws by its illegitimate settlement activities”.
She urged Australia to reconsider its stances, and its overt support to Israel’s illegitimate settlement activities, and said that settlements are preventing the establishment of an independent, viable, Palestinian State.
“I urge Australian officials to study the articles of International Law”, Dr. Ashrawy stated, “Such policies violate International Law, all principles of justice and human rights”.
Bishop recently lashed out on officials and countries of the European Union for trying to pressure Israel into halting its settlement construction and expansion activities in occupied Palestine.
Dr. Ashrawy said that the shift in Australia’s Foreign Policy is very serious, and contradicts international resolutions and treaties, including International Law and the Fourth Geneva Convention, regarding the illegality of Israel’s settlements.
“I would like to remind the Australian government that International Law, and International Humanitarian Law, deem all settlements illegal”, the Palestinian official said, “Article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention, and Article 43 of the International Court clearly state Israel is violating international laws by its illegitimate settlement activities”.
She urged Australia to reconsider its stances, and its overt support to Israel’s illegitimate settlement activities, and said that settlements are preventing the establishment of an independent, viable, Palestinian State.
“I urge Australian officials to study the articles of International Law”, Dr. Ashrawy stated, “Such policies violate International Law, all principles of justice and human rights”.
