7 jan 2012
West Bank Village Appeals for Boycott of Settlements' Funder
Palestinian residents of the West Bank village of Jayyous Friday appealed in a letter to fashion icons and to cancer research institute not to accept donations from a known funder of illegal Jewish settlements built on Palestinian land in the West Bank, according to a press release by the rights organization Adalah-NY.
In the letter, Jayyous Land Defense Committee implored fashion icon Daphne Guinness, New York’s Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) and the Breast Cancer Research Foundation (BCRF) not to “help Lev Leviev to whitewash his illegal settlements on Jayyous’ farmland.”
Leviev, who owns Africa Israel company and is involved in the diamond industry, is the godfather of settlement construction in the West Bank, deemed by the world community as illegal under international law.
Several international groups and organizations have recently distanced themselves from Leviev's companies due to his dismal human rights record.
Leviev funded Daphne Guinness cloths exhibit at FIT and had also donated to the BCRF.
The Jayyous Land Defense Committee detailed in the letter the involvement of one of Leviev’s companies in the construction of Zufim settlement on Jayyous farmland.
“Billionaire Lev Leviev has financially sponsored the construction of the Zufim settlement, whose area has reached 600 dunums (approx. 148 acres) so far, and which continues to expand and encroach on agricultural lands. Therefore, he deprives many Palestinian families in Jayyous from earning their living, as well as depriving them of their water,” said the letter.
“Nonprofit organizations in the US like the Fashion Institute of Technology and the Breast Cancer Research Foundation and individuals who care about human rights like Daphne Guinness have an obligation to support people’s right to live in dignity, and to support Jayyous’ families’ efforts to remain on their lands, instead of cooperating with Lev Leviev who steals our lands, and food, in order to build illegal settlements,” said the letter.
Open letter from Jayyous regarding Zufim settlement and Lev Leviev
Jayyous has some of the most fertile agricultural lands in Palestine, providing 75% of Jayyous' income and fruits and vegetables to people throughout the West Bank. Furthermore, this area is significant because it contains artesian water wells which irrigate more than 8000 dunams (approx. 1977 acres) of land planted with all types of citruses and other fruits.
These wells also irrigate 120 dunams (approx. 30 acres) of greenhouses which, throughout the year, are planted with tomatoes and cucumbers. These lands and those in Qalqilya and the village of Falamya are situated on the western drainage basin, which is this biggest of drainage basins in the West Bank, containing 362 million square meters of water per year.
With this taken into account, Israel’s annexation wall was built and settlements were expanded to isolate 75% of these fertile lands as well as the drainage basin, thus depriving the citizens of their lands and water. In addition to this, the settlement of Zufim was built on parts of Jayyous’s lands. Initially, 200 dunams (approx. 49 acres) of these lands were confiscated by the Israeli army under the pretext of building a military camp, but, in 1991, they were used as a site for constructing the settlement of Zufim, which itself began to expand at the expense of Jayyous' neighbouring farmland.
The expansion of Zufim on Jayyous' farmland has continued since 1991. As examples from just this week, one of Jayyous’ farmers reported that settlers from Zufim started installing electricty poles on his land.
A bulldozer from Zufim is currently tearing up the farmland of other farmers from Jayyous, and Israeli police have refused to take any action to stop this. Another farmer from Jayyous reports that many new Zufim settlement homes are now being built on his land despite an Israeli court ruling forbidding this.
Billionaire Lev Leviev has financially sponsored the construction of the Zufim settlement, whose area has reached 600 dunams (approx. 148 acres) so far, and which continues to expand and encroach on agricultural lands.
Therefore, he deprives many Palestinian families in Jayyous from earning their living, as well as depriving them of their water. Thus, unemployment amidst agricultural workers has increased to more than 75%. Settlement construction, Israel’s annexation wall, and settlement expansion, have all created unemployment, poverty and misery for the families affected by them.
Nonprofit organizations in the US like the Fashion Institute of Technology and the Breast Cancer Research Foundation and individuals who care about human rights like Daphne Guinness have an obligation to support people’s right to live in dignity, and to support Jayyous’ families’ efforts to remain on their lands, instead of cooperating with Lev Leviev who steals our lands, and food in order to build illegal settlements.
For the sake of our community, families and children, please do not help Lev Leviev to whitewash his illegal settlements on Jayyous’ farmland.
Thank you,
Sharif Omar
Jayyous Land Defense Committee
Adalah-NY Statement
Adalah-NY: The New York Campaign for the Boycott of Israel is a grassroots strategic alliance of concerned organizations and individuals in New York, formed to demand an immediate, unconditional, and permanent end to U.S. and U.S.-sponsored Israeli aggression in the Middle East. In response to the continuing injustices committed by the U.S. and Israel, which constitute gross violations of international law, Adalah-NY stands with the people of the Middle East in their demands for justice, equality, democracy, and respect for human rights.
In particular, we support the call by Palestinian civil society organizations for non-violent punitive measures including boycotts, divestment, and sanctions to be maintained until Israel meets its obligation to recognize the Palestinian people's inalienable right to self-determination and fully complies with the precepts of international law by:
1 Ending its occupation and colonization of all Arab lands and dismantling the Wall;
2 Recognizing the fundamental rights of the Arab-Palestinian citizens of Israel to full equality; and
3 Respecting, protecting and promoting the rights of Palestinian refugees to return to their homes and properties as stipulated in UN resolution 194.
We also call for: an end to all occupation in the region; the immediate release of all Arab political prisoners held in Israeli jails; an end to all policies of apartheid and ethnic cleansing; an end to all forms of collective punishment; and an end to US military and financial aid to Israel. We also affirm the right of all people to resist occupation and oppression.
We maintain these demands and rights as they are upheld by basic principles of morality and justice as well as international law. And we recognize that Israeli aggression is supported by the United States and is inseparably tied to the United States' illegal occupation of Iraq and larger U.S. strategies for hegemony in the region.
Background
In August 2006, Adalah-NY (formerly the Ad-Hoc Coalition for Justice in the Middle East) began organizing actions in response to the escalation of Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip at the end of June and the subsequent Israeli war on Lebanon in July 2006.
Adalah-NY has carried out numerous street protests and educational forums focusing on Israel's assault on Gaza and war against Lebanon, the US' threatened attack on Iran, the US and Israeli Apartheid Walls with Mexico and Palestine, and the rights of Palestinian citizens of Israel.
Adalah-NY has been participating with other groups in Israeli Apartheid Week in NYC, events against the Iraq war, events commemorating the Nakbah, and immigrant rights protests.
Since November 2007, Adalah-NY has been conducting one of the most successful Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) campaigns in the United States in line with the call for BDS by Palestinian Civil Society. In addition, Adalah-NY has co-sponsored cultural events, political forums, and other political events.
Adalah-NY continues to mobilize civil society locally and internationally to bring justice to the Middle East. Adalah means justice in Arabic.
In the letter, Jayyous Land Defense Committee implored fashion icon Daphne Guinness, New York’s Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) and the Breast Cancer Research Foundation (BCRF) not to “help Lev Leviev to whitewash his illegal settlements on Jayyous’ farmland.”
Leviev, who owns Africa Israel company and is involved in the diamond industry, is the godfather of settlement construction in the West Bank, deemed by the world community as illegal under international law.
Several international groups and organizations have recently distanced themselves from Leviev's companies due to his dismal human rights record.
Leviev funded Daphne Guinness cloths exhibit at FIT and had also donated to the BCRF.
The Jayyous Land Defense Committee detailed in the letter the involvement of one of Leviev’s companies in the construction of Zufim settlement on Jayyous farmland.
“Billionaire Lev Leviev has financially sponsored the construction of the Zufim settlement, whose area has reached 600 dunums (approx. 148 acres) so far, and which continues to expand and encroach on agricultural lands. Therefore, he deprives many Palestinian families in Jayyous from earning their living, as well as depriving them of their water,” said the letter.
“Nonprofit organizations in the US like the Fashion Institute of Technology and the Breast Cancer Research Foundation and individuals who care about human rights like Daphne Guinness have an obligation to support people’s right to live in dignity, and to support Jayyous’ families’ efforts to remain on their lands, instead of cooperating with Lev Leviev who steals our lands, and food, in order to build illegal settlements,” said the letter.
Open letter from Jayyous regarding Zufim settlement and Lev Leviev
Jayyous has some of the most fertile agricultural lands in Palestine, providing 75% of Jayyous' income and fruits and vegetables to people throughout the West Bank. Furthermore, this area is significant because it contains artesian water wells which irrigate more than 8000 dunams (approx. 1977 acres) of land planted with all types of citruses and other fruits.
These wells also irrigate 120 dunams (approx. 30 acres) of greenhouses which, throughout the year, are planted with tomatoes and cucumbers. These lands and those in Qalqilya and the village of Falamya are situated on the western drainage basin, which is this biggest of drainage basins in the West Bank, containing 362 million square meters of water per year.
With this taken into account, Israel’s annexation wall was built and settlements were expanded to isolate 75% of these fertile lands as well as the drainage basin, thus depriving the citizens of their lands and water. In addition to this, the settlement of Zufim was built on parts of Jayyous’s lands. Initially, 200 dunams (approx. 49 acres) of these lands were confiscated by the Israeli army under the pretext of building a military camp, but, in 1991, they were used as a site for constructing the settlement of Zufim, which itself began to expand at the expense of Jayyous' neighbouring farmland.
The expansion of Zufim on Jayyous' farmland has continued since 1991. As examples from just this week, one of Jayyous’ farmers reported that settlers from Zufim started installing electricty poles on his land.
A bulldozer from Zufim is currently tearing up the farmland of other farmers from Jayyous, and Israeli police have refused to take any action to stop this. Another farmer from Jayyous reports that many new Zufim settlement homes are now being built on his land despite an Israeli court ruling forbidding this.
Billionaire Lev Leviev has financially sponsored the construction of the Zufim settlement, whose area has reached 600 dunams (approx. 148 acres) so far, and which continues to expand and encroach on agricultural lands.
Therefore, he deprives many Palestinian families in Jayyous from earning their living, as well as depriving them of their water. Thus, unemployment amidst agricultural workers has increased to more than 75%. Settlement construction, Israel’s annexation wall, and settlement expansion, have all created unemployment, poverty and misery for the families affected by them.
Nonprofit organizations in the US like the Fashion Institute of Technology and the Breast Cancer Research Foundation and individuals who care about human rights like Daphne Guinness have an obligation to support people’s right to live in dignity, and to support Jayyous’ families’ efforts to remain on their lands, instead of cooperating with Lev Leviev who steals our lands, and food in order to build illegal settlements.
For the sake of our community, families and children, please do not help Lev Leviev to whitewash his illegal settlements on Jayyous’ farmland.
Thank you,
Sharif Omar
Jayyous Land Defense Committee
Adalah-NY Statement
Adalah-NY: The New York Campaign for the Boycott of Israel is a grassroots strategic alliance of concerned organizations and individuals in New York, formed to demand an immediate, unconditional, and permanent end to U.S. and U.S.-sponsored Israeli aggression in the Middle East. In response to the continuing injustices committed by the U.S. and Israel, which constitute gross violations of international law, Adalah-NY stands with the people of the Middle East in their demands for justice, equality, democracy, and respect for human rights.
In particular, we support the call by Palestinian civil society organizations for non-violent punitive measures including boycotts, divestment, and sanctions to be maintained until Israel meets its obligation to recognize the Palestinian people's inalienable right to self-determination and fully complies with the precepts of international law by:
1 Ending its occupation and colonization of all Arab lands and dismantling the Wall;
2 Recognizing the fundamental rights of the Arab-Palestinian citizens of Israel to full equality; and
3 Respecting, protecting and promoting the rights of Palestinian refugees to return to their homes and properties as stipulated in UN resolution 194.
We also call for: an end to all occupation in the region; the immediate release of all Arab political prisoners held in Israeli jails; an end to all policies of apartheid and ethnic cleansing; an end to all forms of collective punishment; and an end to US military and financial aid to Israel. We also affirm the right of all people to resist occupation and oppression.
We maintain these demands and rights as they are upheld by basic principles of morality and justice as well as international law. And we recognize that Israeli aggression is supported by the United States and is inseparably tied to the United States' illegal occupation of Iraq and larger U.S. strategies for hegemony in the region.
Background
In August 2006, Adalah-NY (formerly the Ad-Hoc Coalition for Justice in the Middle East) began organizing actions in response to the escalation of Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip at the end of June and the subsequent Israeli war on Lebanon in July 2006.
Adalah-NY has carried out numerous street protests and educational forums focusing on Israel's assault on Gaza and war against Lebanon, the US' threatened attack on Iran, the US and Israeli Apartheid Walls with Mexico and Palestine, and the rights of Palestinian citizens of Israel.
Adalah-NY has been participating with other groups in Israeli Apartheid Week in NYC, events against the Iraq war, events commemorating the Nakbah, and immigrant rights protests.
Since November 2007, Adalah-NY has been conducting one of the most successful Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) campaigns in the United States in line with the call for BDS by Palestinian Civil Society. In addition, Adalah-NY has co-sponsored cultural events, political forums, and other political events.
Adalah-NY continues to mobilize civil society locally and internationally to bring justice to the Middle East. Adalah means justice in Arabic.
5 jan 2012
US: Israeli, Palestinian envoys to meet Monday
Israeli and Palestinian peace negotiators will hold their second round of face-to-face talks within a week on Monday in Amman, a US State Department spokeswoman said on Thursday.
"We are encouraged that they are both coming to the table, they are talking directly," spokeswoman Victoria Nuland told reporters in her daily briefing.
The two sides held their first high-level talks in more than a year in Amman on Tuesday, a gathering sponsored by the Quartet of Middle East peace mediators -- the European Union, Russia, the United Nations and the United States.
The Quartet on Sept. 23 called for the two sides to resume talks with the aim of reaching a peace deal by the end of 2012.
Tuesday's talks did not produce any breakthroughs. They were aimed at agreeing to terms under which the two sides' leaders -- President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu -- could resume talks.
Nuland said the next round was to be held in Amman and was expected to follow the format of Tuesday's meeting, which was attended by PLO official Saeb Erekat and Israel's Yitzhak Molcho.
Analysis: Amman talks boost all sides, even without results
By Daoud Kuttab
The Palestinian-Israeli meeting that was held in Amman on Tuesday and is to be repeated next week took many by surprise. After all, the Palestinian leadership has been resisting for months to respond to tremendous pressure to go back to negotiations without conditions.
Furthermore, it has become customary that as the US and possibly Israel move into an election year, there is nothing of substance that can be accomplished through talks.
While all this might be conventional thinking, the reality on the ground is different. In some ways Jordan provides the perfect way out of the impasse. Palestinians and Israelis, for totally different reasons, need to appear to talk now.
Palestinians need to show that they are not total rejectionists. President Mahmoud Abbas has taken a hardline position since the summer by going to the UN and defying the Americans. Palestinians have been punished for that in different ways.
Returning to talks as if nothing happened would appear to be capitulation, and so preliminary discussions in a third country appear to be a convenient compromise.
Palestinians wanted, and still insist on the need for, a total freeze of settlement activity. Jordan uses softer terminology, saying that both sides need to refrain from unilateral actions that are provocative.
Refusing to talk until all settlement activity is frozen makes a lot of political sense, especially as it was also the US position, even though for over a year now the Obama administration has abandoned this demand.
By going to Amman, although they are not totally surrendering, the Palestinians are avoiding destroying decades of attempts at keeping their relations with the US reasonable.
Politically, by going to Jordan and having the Jordanian foreign minister obtain the blessing of the Arab follow-up committee, the Palestinian leadership also ensures that relations with Arabs are improved, especially as the crucial reconciliation talks and upcoming elections are scheduled to take place next May.
Palestinians can thus counter repeated Israeli claims that they want to talk -- anywhere and any time -- but that the Palestinians are the ones refusing.
While there is no confirmation, some rumors have been circulating about a possible Israeli release of some long-term PLO prisoners. This would weaken the gains made by Hamas after it succeeded to get hundreds released in exchange for a captured Israeli soldier.
If this is the case, and if among those released is Marwan Barghouthi, the Fatah success in the coming elections -- provided Abbas continues to insist on not running -- will be ensured.
It is obvious that for Israelis the meetings, any meeting, are better than the present boycott by Palestinians; they deflect criticism that Israel is obstructing peace.
The meetings are also important for the US and the Quartet, which has been unable to yield any concrete results and has been appearing weaker and weaker in the face of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s intransigence.
Holding the meetings in Amman also boosts the country. With the post-Mubarak Egyptian government totally engulfed in the aftershocks of the Jan. 25 revolution, Jordan is the perfect replacement.
Jordan, the only other Arab country with a peace treaty with Israel, can play a neutral and honest arbitrator role between the parties while at the same time continue to be an ally of the Palestinians.
While all parties need these talks for different reasons, the fact remains that they are unlikely to produce any major breakthrough.
Negotiators will spin their wheels in the coming months waiting to see the results of the Arab Spring and Palestinian elections, as well as the outcome of the US presidential election and of possible Israeli parliamentary elections.
As the people of the region watch the negotiations in Amman, the talks can be expected to be nothing more than shadow boxing.
No one will attempt a punch, let alone a knockout one; they all know it will take some major outside help -- namely from Washington -- before any breakthrough can be achieved.
Tufkaji: The peace talks with Israelis end J'lem as a Palestinian capital
Palestinian specialist in settlement affairs Khalil Tufkaji warned of future repercussions resulting from the Palestinian authority's engagement in renewed peace talks with Israelis, saying such step would end Jerusalem as the capital of Palestine.
"Any return to negotiations without a cessation of settlement activities is tantamount to a signed agreement on a dismembered state without territorial contiguity whose borders were drawn and decided alone by the Israeli side," the specialist underlined in a press release on Wednesday.
He noted that the number of Jewish settlers has been on the rise since Oslo agreements of 1993 and Israel has built for them more than 20, 000 settlement units and outposts in occupied Jerusalem and dozens of units in occupied West Bank.
"The Israelis are working for their state as they would live there forever," the specialist stressed.
France, UK welcome continuation of talks
France and the UK on Wednesday welcomed the announcement of planned future meetings between Israeli and Palestinian envoys after a summit in Amman this week.
After PLO official Saeb Erekat met Israeli delegate Yitzkhak Molcho and Quartet representatives in the Jordanian capital on Tuesday, a presidential spokesman said talks would continue until the end of the month.
Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh said the parties would meet "on a continual basis, without prior announcement of time and date," adding that the sides would keep details of the meetings secret.
British Foreign Minister for the Middle East Alistair Burt called the planned meetings a "positive development," and called on Israeli and Palestinian leaders to "show the political leadership and courage needed to break the current impasse and make progress towards a negotiated two-state solution," in a statement on Wednesday.
Meanwhile France also welcomed the announcement, adding it "reaffirms the need for (the meetings) to swiftly lead to the presentation by the two parties of comprehensive and detailed proposals on border and security issues.
PLO envoys say they handed Israeli officials a proposal for resolving border and security issues at Tuesday's meeting. Judeh said Israeli representatives promised to respond to the proposals in future meetings.
"We are encouraged that they are both coming to the table, they are talking directly," spokeswoman Victoria Nuland told reporters in her daily briefing.
The two sides held their first high-level talks in more than a year in Amman on Tuesday, a gathering sponsored by the Quartet of Middle East peace mediators -- the European Union, Russia, the United Nations and the United States.
The Quartet on Sept. 23 called for the two sides to resume talks with the aim of reaching a peace deal by the end of 2012.
Tuesday's talks did not produce any breakthroughs. They were aimed at agreeing to terms under which the two sides' leaders -- President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu -- could resume talks.
Nuland said the next round was to be held in Amman and was expected to follow the format of Tuesday's meeting, which was attended by PLO official Saeb Erekat and Israel's Yitzhak Molcho.
Analysis: Amman talks boost all sides, even without results
By Daoud Kuttab
The Palestinian-Israeli meeting that was held in Amman on Tuesday and is to be repeated next week took many by surprise. After all, the Palestinian leadership has been resisting for months to respond to tremendous pressure to go back to negotiations without conditions.
Furthermore, it has become customary that as the US and possibly Israel move into an election year, there is nothing of substance that can be accomplished through talks.
While all this might be conventional thinking, the reality on the ground is different. In some ways Jordan provides the perfect way out of the impasse. Palestinians and Israelis, for totally different reasons, need to appear to talk now.
Palestinians need to show that they are not total rejectionists. President Mahmoud Abbas has taken a hardline position since the summer by going to the UN and defying the Americans. Palestinians have been punished for that in different ways.
Returning to talks as if nothing happened would appear to be capitulation, and so preliminary discussions in a third country appear to be a convenient compromise.
Palestinians wanted, and still insist on the need for, a total freeze of settlement activity. Jordan uses softer terminology, saying that both sides need to refrain from unilateral actions that are provocative.
Refusing to talk until all settlement activity is frozen makes a lot of political sense, especially as it was also the US position, even though for over a year now the Obama administration has abandoned this demand.
By going to Amman, although they are not totally surrendering, the Palestinians are avoiding destroying decades of attempts at keeping their relations with the US reasonable.
Politically, by going to Jordan and having the Jordanian foreign minister obtain the blessing of the Arab follow-up committee, the Palestinian leadership also ensures that relations with Arabs are improved, especially as the crucial reconciliation talks and upcoming elections are scheduled to take place next May.
Palestinians can thus counter repeated Israeli claims that they want to talk -- anywhere and any time -- but that the Palestinians are the ones refusing.
While there is no confirmation, some rumors have been circulating about a possible Israeli release of some long-term PLO prisoners. This would weaken the gains made by Hamas after it succeeded to get hundreds released in exchange for a captured Israeli soldier.
If this is the case, and if among those released is Marwan Barghouthi, the Fatah success in the coming elections -- provided Abbas continues to insist on not running -- will be ensured.
It is obvious that for Israelis the meetings, any meeting, are better than the present boycott by Palestinians; they deflect criticism that Israel is obstructing peace.
The meetings are also important for the US and the Quartet, which has been unable to yield any concrete results and has been appearing weaker and weaker in the face of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s intransigence.
Holding the meetings in Amman also boosts the country. With the post-Mubarak Egyptian government totally engulfed in the aftershocks of the Jan. 25 revolution, Jordan is the perfect replacement.
Jordan, the only other Arab country with a peace treaty with Israel, can play a neutral and honest arbitrator role between the parties while at the same time continue to be an ally of the Palestinians.
While all parties need these talks for different reasons, the fact remains that they are unlikely to produce any major breakthrough.
Negotiators will spin their wheels in the coming months waiting to see the results of the Arab Spring and Palestinian elections, as well as the outcome of the US presidential election and of possible Israeli parliamentary elections.
As the people of the region watch the negotiations in Amman, the talks can be expected to be nothing more than shadow boxing.
No one will attempt a punch, let alone a knockout one; they all know it will take some major outside help -- namely from Washington -- before any breakthrough can be achieved.
Tufkaji: The peace talks with Israelis end J'lem as a Palestinian capital
Palestinian specialist in settlement affairs Khalil Tufkaji warned of future repercussions resulting from the Palestinian authority's engagement in renewed peace talks with Israelis, saying such step would end Jerusalem as the capital of Palestine.
"Any return to negotiations without a cessation of settlement activities is tantamount to a signed agreement on a dismembered state without territorial contiguity whose borders were drawn and decided alone by the Israeli side," the specialist underlined in a press release on Wednesday.
He noted that the number of Jewish settlers has been on the rise since Oslo agreements of 1993 and Israel has built for them more than 20, 000 settlement units and outposts in occupied Jerusalem and dozens of units in occupied West Bank.
"The Israelis are working for their state as they would live there forever," the specialist stressed.
France, UK welcome continuation of talks
France and the UK on Wednesday welcomed the announcement of planned future meetings between Israeli and Palestinian envoys after a summit in Amman this week.
After PLO official Saeb Erekat met Israeli delegate Yitzkhak Molcho and Quartet representatives in the Jordanian capital on Tuesday, a presidential spokesman said talks would continue until the end of the month.
Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh said the parties would meet "on a continual basis, without prior announcement of time and date," adding that the sides would keep details of the meetings secret.
British Foreign Minister for the Middle East Alistair Burt called the planned meetings a "positive development," and called on Israeli and Palestinian leaders to "show the political leadership and courage needed to break the current impasse and make progress towards a negotiated two-state solution," in a statement on Wednesday.
Meanwhile France also welcomed the announcement, adding it "reaffirms the need for (the meetings) to swiftly lead to the presentation by the two parties of comprehensive and detailed proposals on border and security issues.
PLO envoys say they handed Israeli officials a proposal for resolving border and security issues at Tuesday's meeting. Judeh said Israeli representatives promised to respond to the proposals in future meetings.
4 jan 2012
Abbas 'will keep pushing for peace talks'
President Mahmoud Abbas will continue to try and engage Israel in peace talks, his spokesman said Wednesday.
In a statement, Nabil Abu Rudaineh urged the Israeli government to announce a settlement freeze and to accept the two-state solution based on 1967 borders so talks can resume.
The last round of negotiations collapsed in September 2010 over Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's refusal to extend a freeze on illegal Jewish-only settlement building on occupied Palestinian land.
Abu Rudaineh said talks between Palestinian and Israeli envoys in Jordan would continue until the end of January.
The Palestinian Authority official applauded Jordan's King Abdullah for his efforts to restart peace talks.
Palestinian envoys handed Israeli officials a proposal for resolving border and security issues at a meeting in the Jordanian capital on Tuesday attended by international Quartet delegates.
But Palestinian officials insist the meeting did not signal a resumption of peace talks.
Omar al-Ghoul, advisor to PA Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, told Sawa radio on Tuesday that Palestinian negotiators agreed to the meeting in Amman in order to give the Jordanian initiative a chance.
The Amman talks brought together Quartet representatives, PLO negotiator Saeb Erekat and Israel's Yitzhak Molcho.
Jordanian Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh, who hosted the talks, reported no significant progress but added: "The important thing is the two sides have met face to face."
Judeh added that from here on the sides would keep details of the meetings secret. That could boost the chances of progress by easing immediate pressure from Israeli or Palestinian public opinion not to make concessions.
He said the two sides had until Jan. 26 to make progress and that meetings would take place in Jordan "on a continual basis, without prior announcement of time and date."
In a statement, Nabil Abu Rudaineh urged the Israeli government to announce a settlement freeze and to accept the two-state solution based on 1967 borders so talks can resume.
The last round of negotiations collapsed in September 2010 over Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's refusal to extend a freeze on illegal Jewish-only settlement building on occupied Palestinian land.
Abu Rudaineh said talks between Palestinian and Israeli envoys in Jordan would continue until the end of January.
The Palestinian Authority official applauded Jordan's King Abdullah for his efforts to restart peace talks.
Palestinian envoys handed Israeli officials a proposal for resolving border and security issues at a meeting in the Jordanian capital on Tuesday attended by international Quartet delegates.
But Palestinian officials insist the meeting did not signal a resumption of peace talks.
Omar al-Ghoul, advisor to PA Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, told Sawa radio on Tuesday that Palestinian negotiators agreed to the meeting in Amman in order to give the Jordanian initiative a chance.
The Amman talks brought together Quartet representatives, PLO negotiator Saeb Erekat and Israel's Yitzhak Molcho.
Jordanian Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh, who hosted the talks, reported no significant progress but added: "The important thing is the two sides have met face to face."
Judeh added that from here on the sides would keep details of the meetings secret. That could boost the chances of progress by easing immediate pressure from Israeli or Palestinian public opinion not to make concessions.
He said the two sides had until Jan. 26 to make progress and that meetings would take place in Jordan "on a continual basis, without prior announcement of time and date."
3 jan 2012
Israeli-Palestinian Talks End Without Breakthrough
No breakthroughs emerged Tuesday from the first meeting between Israeli and Palestinian negotiators in more than a year, the foreign minister of host Jordan said, adding the two sides agreed to keep talking.
Talks have been stalled since late 2010 over the issue of Israeli settlement construction.
The minister, Nasser Judeh, said the talks were held in a positive atmosphere. Although there were no breakthroughs on matters of "substance," he said, "the important thing is the two sides have met face to face."
"We agreed that the discussions will be continuous," he said, "and will take place here in Jordan."
Resumption of any kind of contacts would be seen as an achievement, though the two sides remain far from agreement on key issues like borders, security, Palestinian refugees and settlements. The 15 months without negotiations have seen a progressive souring of the atmosphere, as Palestinians blame Israel for the deadlock and Israel charges the Palestinians with trying to delegitimize the Jewish state through propaganda campaigns and unilateral diplomatic initiatives.
The Israelis and Palestinians agreed to send their chief negotiators to Jordan under pressure from the "Quartet" of Mideast mediators — The U.S., U.N., EU and Russia, though there was no sign either was softening its positions.
A diplomat who attended the larger meeting said the talks were "serious."
"It was a brainstorming session in which both sides, the Israelis and Palestinians, showed eagerness to restart peace negotiations," the diplomat said. He declined to elaborate and insisted on anonymity, saying a public comment could adversely affect the sensitive meeting.
The Quartet has been working for months to restart peace talks. The international group hopes to broker a final peace agreement by the end of the year.
At the United Nations, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon welcomed Tuesday's talks. "The secretary-general encourages the parties to build on this meeting and to continue working to establish forward momentum toward a lasting peace," said a statement issued by his office.
Talks have been stalled since September 2010, when a 10-month Israeli moratorium on new construction in settlements expired.
The Palestinians have refused to return to the table while Israel builds in its settlements in the West Bank and east Jerusalem — areas captured by Israel in the 1967 Mideast war that the Palestinians hope to make part of a future state. They also want Israel to commit to returning to its pre-1967 war lines as the basis for final borders.
Israel insists on talks without prior conditions.
The international community has largely backed the Palestinian positions on settlements and borders, but stopped short of making them conditions for restarting talks.
Ahead of Tuesday's meeting, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said that if Israel accepts his conditions, "we will go to negotiations." He said the Palestinians have set a Jan. 26 deadline for talks to resume. "After that date, we will take new measures. These measures might be hard," he said.
Palestinian officials have said they are considering resuming their push for U.N. membership as well as ways to isolate Israel at the United Nations, such as a new resolution condemning Israeli settlements in the West Bank and east Jerusalem.
Abbas: Israel Must Meet Obligations to Resume negotiations
President Mahmoud Abbas Tuesday said that when Israel recognizes the terms of reference of the peace process and halt all settlement activities, “then we are ready to resume negotiations.”
Abbas told reporters, in Ramallah, that the results of the meeting scheduled for Tuesday in Jordon between the Palestinian and Israeli negotiators, will become visible in a day or two in order to lay the necessary ground for the resumption of negotiations.
He expressed hope that Jordan, host of the talks, will succeed in bringing the peace process back on track.
The planned meeting will first include a general meeting between the Quartet representatives with the participation of the Palestinian and Israeli negotiators and then the two parties will hold a one-on-one meeting.
Radwan: The peace talks with Israelis a waste of time
Senior Hamas official Ismail Radwan slammed the meetings taking place between the Palestinian authority and Israelis as frivolous and a waste of time, stressing that the Israeli occupation always uses the peace talks to annex more lands and escalate its violations.
Radwan told the Palestinian information center (PIC) on Monday that the next Amman meeting would give the Israeli occupation state a chance and cover-up for more aggressive practices against the Palestinian people and their holy sites, and would affect the Palestinian unity.
"The Zionist occupation does not want a real Palestinian reconciliation; it wants to entrench the division. These meetings are arranged by the US administration and the international quartet in order to give the Zionist enemy a chance to persist in its crimes," the Hamas official said.
The Hamas official emphasized the need for hastening to implement the reconciliation agreement and upholding the Palestinian constants instead of wagering on the peace talks with the Israeli occupation state.
PLO to meet Israeli, Quartet envoys in Amman
Israeli and Palestinian envoys meet in Jordan on Tuesday alongside international mediators trying to revive their stalled peace talks, but neither side is raising hopes they can end more than a year of deadlock.
Negotiations stalled in late 2010 after Israel refused to renew a partial freeze on Jewish settlement in the occupied West Bank, which officials say threaten a viable Palestinian state.
PLO official and talks delegate Saeb Erekat on Tuesday called on Israel to "seize this opportunity to stop all settlement construction, accept the two-state solution on the 1967 border, and release Palestinian prisoners, in order to have the conducive environment called for under the Quartet Statement ... for meaningful and credible talks."
The meeting is "part of ongoing Jordanian efforts to compel Israel to comply with its international legal obligations and those under the Quartet Road Map," he added.
Jordanian Foreign Minister Nasser Juda said the aim of the meeting is "to bring (the sides) together and try to push for a breakthrough in the peace talks to arrive at addressing the final status issues, starting with borders and security," according to The Jordan Times.
Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri called on the Palestinian Authority to boycott Tuesday's meeting, saying it was "repeating a policy of failure."
"The only beneficiary (of the summit) will be the Israeli occupation," he said, in remarks echoed by leftist faction PFLP.
Both Palestinian and Israeli officials have downplayed the meeting, which was called by the Quartet of Middle East mediators -- the United States, the European Union, Russia and the United Nations.
A senior PLO figure said Israel and the Palestinians were simply fulfilling a request by the Quartet to present their positions on the issues of security and borders.
"This is not a resumption of negotiations," Wasl Abu Yossef told Reuters in Ramallah.
"We should not impose on this meeting a heavy load," Erekat said. "I do not know if the Israeli side is bringing anything new, or if they are willing to put their position on the table".
"The only way to reach an agreement is through talks," Israeli cabinet minister Dan Meridor said. "There is an opening to renew negotiations... We must hope that things will work out but it does not depend only on us."
A diplomat in Amman also said Tuesday's meeting was not expected to lead to a breakthrough. "To be realistic, it won't solve anything, (although) it could give new energy" to the process, the diplomat said.
The talks at the Jordanian Foreign Ministry bring together Erekat, Israel's Yitzhak Molcho and representatives of the Quartet.
A ministry spokesman said earlier this week that the meeting aimed at reaching common ground to allow a resumption of direct talks between Israel the Palestinians, with the goal of reaching a peace accord by the end of this year.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton also urged both sides to "take advantage of this opportunity.
"The need for a lasting peace is more urgent than ever. The status quo is not sustainable and the parties must act boldly to advance the cause of peace," Clinton said.
Established a decade ago, the Quartet has in recent months taken a leading role in attempts to broker new negotiations, stepping in after US President Barack Obama's administration failed to revive diplomacy.
The Quartet negotiators, led by former British premier Tony Blair, are pressing for results after they sought to relaunch talks when President Abbas submitted Palestine's bid for full membership of the negotiations on Sep. 23.
The framework proposed by the Quartet set out a return to direct talks within a month, and "comprehensive proposals ... on territory and security," by late January 2012.
Talks have been stalled since late 2010 over the issue of Israeli settlement construction.
The minister, Nasser Judeh, said the talks were held in a positive atmosphere. Although there were no breakthroughs on matters of "substance," he said, "the important thing is the two sides have met face to face."
"We agreed that the discussions will be continuous," he said, "and will take place here in Jordan."
Resumption of any kind of contacts would be seen as an achievement, though the two sides remain far from agreement on key issues like borders, security, Palestinian refugees and settlements. The 15 months without negotiations have seen a progressive souring of the atmosphere, as Palestinians blame Israel for the deadlock and Israel charges the Palestinians with trying to delegitimize the Jewish state through propaganda campaigns and unilateral diplomatic initiatives.
The Israelis and Palestinians agreed to send their chief negotiators to Jordan under pressure from the "Quartet" of Mideast mediators — The U.S., U.N., EU and Russia, though there was no sign either was softening its positions.
A diplomat who attended the larger meeting said the talks were "serious."
"It was a brainstorming session in which both sides, the Israelis and Palestinians, showed eagerness to restart peace negotiations," the diplomat said. He declined to elaborate and insisted on anonymity, saying a public comment could adversely affect the sensitive meeting.
The Quartet has been working for months to restart peace talks. The international group hopes to broker a final peace agreement by the end of the year.
At the United Nations, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon welcomed Tuesday's talks. "The secretary-general encourages the parties to build on this meeting and to continue working to establish forward momentum toward a lasting peace," said a statement issued by his office.
Talks have been stalled since September 2010, when a 10-month Israeli moratorium on new construction in settlements expired.
The Palestinians have refused to return to the table while Israel builds in its settlements in the West Bank and east Jerusalem — areas captured by Israel in the 1967 Mideast war that the Palestinians hope to make part of a future state. They also want Israel to commit to returning to its pre-1967 war lines as the basis for final borders.
Israel insists on talks without prior conditions.
The international community has largely backed the Palestinian positions on settlements and borders, but stopped short of making them conditions for restarting talks.
Ahead of Tuesday's meeting, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said that if Israel accepts his conditions, "we will go to negotiations." He said the Palestinians have set a Jan. 26 deadline for talks to resume. "After that date, we will take new measures. These measures might be hard," he said.
Palestinian officials have said they are considering resuming their push for U.N. membership as well as ways to isolate Israel at the United Nations, such as a new resolution condemning Israeli settlements in the West Bank and east Jerusalem.
Abbas: Israel Must Meet Obligations to Resume negotiations
President Mahmoud Abbas Tuesday said that when Israel recognizes the terms of reference of the peace process and halt all settlement activities, “then we are ready to resume negotiations.”
Abbas told reporters, in Ramallah, that the results of the meeting scheduled for Tuesday in Jordon between the Palestinian and Israeli negotiators, will become visible in a day or two in order to lay the necessary ground for the resumption of negotiations.
He expressed hope that Jordan, host of the talks, will succeed in bringing the peace process back on track.
The planned meeting will first include a general meeting between the Quartet representatives with the participation of the Palestinian and Israeli negotiators and then the two parties will hold a one-on-one meeting.
Radwan: The peace talks with Israelis a waste of time
Senior Hamas official Ismail Radwan slammed the meetings taking place between the Palestinian authority and Israelis as frivolous and a waste of time, stressing that the Israeli occupation always uses the peace talks to annex more lands and escalate its violations.
Radwan told the Palestinian information center (PIC) on Monday that the next Amman meeting would give the Israeli occupation state a chance and cover-up for more aggressive practices against the Palestinian people and their holy sites, and would affect the Palestinian unity.
"The Zionist occupation does not want a real Palestinian reconciliation; it wants to entrench the division. These meetings are arranged by the US administration and the international quartet in order to give the Zionist enemy a chance to persist in its crimes," the Hamas official said.
The Hamas official emphasized the need for hastening to implement the reconciliation agreement and upholding the Palestinian constants instead of wagering on the peace talks with the Israeli occupation state.
PLO to meet Israeli, Quartet envoys in Amman
Israeli and Palestinian envoys meet in Jordan on Tuesday alongside international mediators trying to revive their stalled peace talks, but neither side is raising hopes they can end more than a year of deadlock.
Negotiations stalled in late 2010 after Israel refused to renew a partial freeze on Jewish settlement in the occupied West Bank, which officials say threaten a viable Palestinian state.
PLO official and talks delegate Saeb Erekat on Tuesday called on Israel to "seize this opportunity to stop all settlement construction, accept the two-state solution on the 1967 border, and release Palestinian prisoners, in order to have the conducive environment called for under the Quartet Statement ... for meaningful and credible talks."
The meeting is "part of ongoing Jordanian efforts to compel Israel to comply with its international legal obligations and those under the Quartet Road Map," he added.
Jordanian Foreign Minister Nasser Juda said the aim of the meeting is "to bring (the sides) together and try to push for a breakthrough in the peace talks to arrive at addressing the final status issues, starting with borders and security," according to The Jordan Times.
Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri called on the Palestinian Authority to boycott Tuesday's meeting, saying it was "repeating a policy of failure."
"The only beneficiary (of the summit) will be the Israeli occupation," he said, in remarks echoed by leftist faction PFLP.
Both Palestinian and Israeli officials have downplayed the meeting, which was called by the Quartet of Middle East mediators -- the United States, the European Union, Russia and the United Nations.
A senior PLO figure said Israel and the Palestinians were simply fulfilling a request by the Quartet to present their positions on the issues of security and borders.
"This is not a resumption of negotiations," Wasl Abu Yossef told Reuters in Ramallah.
"We should not impose on this meeting a heavy load," Erekat said. "I do not know if the Israeli side is bringing anything new, or if they are willing to put their position on the table".
"The only way to reach an agreement is through talks," Israeli cabinet minister Dan Meridor said. "There is an opening to renew negotiations... We must hope that things will work out but it does not depend only on us."
A diplomat in Amman also said Tuesday's meeting was not expected to lead to a breakthrough. "To be realistic, it won't solve anything, (although) it could give new energy" to the process, the diplomat said.
The talks at the Jordanian Foreign Ministry bring together Erekat, Israel's Yitzhak Molcho and representatives of the Quartet.
A ministry spokesman said earlier this week that the meeting aimed at reaching common ground to allow a resumption of direct talks between Israel the Palestinians, with the goal of reaching a peace accord by the end of this year.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton also urged both sides to "take advantage of this opportunity.
"The need for a lasting peace is more urgent than ever. The status quo is not sustainable and the parties must act boldly to advance the cause of peace," Clinton said.
Established a decade ago, the Quartet has in recent months taken a leading role in attempts to broker new negotiations, stepping in after US President Barack Obama's administration failed to revive diplomacy.
The Quartet negotiators, led by former British premier Tony Blair, are pressing for results after they sought to relaunch talks when President Abbas submitted Palestine's bid for full membership of the negotiations on Sep. 23.
The framework proposed by the Quartet set out a return to direct talks within a month, and "comprehensive proposals ... on territory and security," by late January 2012.
IOA to build hundreds of new settlement units in West Bank, Jerusalem
The Israeli occupation authority (IOA) has published new tenders for the construction of hundreds of settlement units in occupied Jerusalem and the West Bank.
The tenders published by the Hebrew media on Tuesday said that 122 new housing units would be built in occupied Jerusalem while 213 would be built in Gush Etzion, south of Bethlehem in the West Bank.
The news reports said that the Israeli government had approved the construction of industrial zones in 16 West Bank and occupied Jerusalem areas.
The tenders published by the Hebrew media on Tuesday said that 122 new housing units would be built in occupied Jerusalem while 213 would be built in Gush Etzion, south of Bethlehem in the West Bank.
The news reports said that the Israeli government had approved the construction of industrial zones in 16 West Bank and occupied Jerusalem areas.
Report: Israel issues tenders for 300 settler homes
An Israeli ministry on Tuesday issued tenders to build 300 new homes in Jewish only settlements in the occupied West Bank, Israeli media reported.
The Housing Ministry and Israel Lands Administration published the call to build 47 units in Pisgat Zeev, and 247 in Har Homa, both adjacent to East Jerusalem, after announcing their plans two weeks ago, Israeli daily Haaretz said.
Israeli advocacy group Ir Amin slammed the timing of the announcement. "By releasing the tender at this time, Israel is slapping the face of [Jordanian] King Abdullah and the entire international community, morbidly injuring the already low chances of peace talks to be renewed," the group said according to the report.
Palestinian and Israeli envoys are meeting in Jordan on Tuesday at the invitation of the international Quartet, and hosted by the Jordanian government.
The Housing Ministry and Israel Lands Administration published the call to build 47 units in Pisgat Zeev, and 247 in Har Homa, both adjacent to East Jerusalem, after announcing their plans two weeks ago, Israeli daily Haaretz said.
Israeli advocacy group Ir Amin slammed the timing of the announcement. "By releasing the tender at this time, Israel is slapping the face of [Jordanian] King Abdullah and the entire international community, morbidly injuring the already low chances of peace talks to be renewed," the group said according to the report.
Palestinian and Israeli envoys are meeting in Jordan on Tuesday at the invitation of the international Quartet, and hosted by the Jordanian government.
Cabinet Supports Decision to Complain Settlements to Security Council
The Palestinian cabinet said Tuesday that it supports the PLO decision to complain to the United Nations Security Council and the Arab League about Israeli settlement expansion in the West Bank and occupied Jerusalem, according to a statement issued following the weekly cabinet meeting held in Ramallah.
The cabinet meeting, chaired by Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, also expressed support for calling on the High Contracting Parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention to investigate Israeli violations of international law and Palestinian rights.
The cabinet condemned Israeli authorities’ decision to demolish Karni (al-Mintar) commercial crossing, east of Gaza, and considered it an “illegal unilateral move” that tightens the blockade on the Gaza Strip.
The cabinet meeting, chaired by Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, also expressed support for calling on the High Contracting Parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention to investigate Israeli violations of international law and Palestinian rights.
The cabinet condemned Israeli authorities’ decision to demolish Karni (al-Mintar) commercial crossing, east of Gaza, and considered it an “illegal unilateral move” that tightens the blockade on the Gaza Strip.
Advocacy Group: Israel to Expand Settlements
The Civic Coalition for Defending Palestinian Rights in Jerusalem (CCDPRJ) Tuesday said in a statement that Israeli newspapers published tenders for the expansion of settlements in East Jerusalem and the West Bank.
It said the tenders included building 117 housing units in Har Homa settlement in Jabal Abu Ghneim, south of Jerusalem, as well as expansion of Giv'at Hazit settlement in East Jerusalem.
The tenders also included expansion in Har Adar settlement, southwest of Jerusalem, and the building of 213 housing units in Efrat settlement, south of Bethlehem, added the statement.
It said the Israeli newspapers announced the construction of several industrial projects in a number of settlements in the West Bank and Jerusalem.
CCDPRJ stressed that such announcements fall under the Israeli de facto policy and convey defiance message to the US administration, the Quartet and the world that Israel will continue in its illegal settlement policy despite urgent calls against it.
It said the tenders included building 117 housing units in Har Homa settlement in Jabal Abu Ghneim, south of Jerusalem, as well as expansion of Giv'at Hazit settlement in East Jerusalem.
The tenders also included expansion in Har Adar settlement, southwest of Jerusalem, and the building of 213 housing units in Efrat settlement, south of Bethlehem, added the statement.
It said the Israeli newspapers announced the construction of several industrial projects in a number of settlements in the West Bank and Jerusalem.
CCDPRJ stressed that such announcements fall under the Israeli de facto policy and convey defiance message to the US administration, the Quartet and the world that Israel will continue in its illegal settlement policy despite urgent calls against it.
2 jan 2012
Report: Israel to build wall on Lebanon frontier
Israeli military officials plan to build a new wall on the country's northern ceasefire line with Lebanon, Israeli media reported on Monday.
An official in Israel's northern command told Hebrew daily Yedioth Ahronoth that the 5-meter high and 1-kilometer long wall will be equipped with alarms and separate Israeli kibbutz al-Matala and Lebanese village Kafr Kala which lie near to each other.
The wall, the first of its kind along the frontier with Lebanon, will be planned in the coming days and building will start in a few weeks, the newspaper said.
Israel's army has requested the UN peacekeeping force stationed in the ceasefire zone coordinate with Lebanon in order to prevent clashes.
The border between Israel and Lebanon is disputed by the two sides and the UN-drawn "Blue Line" covers just part of the stretch, established in 2000 to determine whether Israel had withdrawn from Lebanon after its 1982 invasion.
An official in Israel's northern command told Hebrew daily Yedioth Ahronoth that the 5-meter high and 1-kilometer long wall will be equipped with alarms and separate Israeli kibbutz al-Matala and Lebanese village Kafr Kala which lie near to each other.
The wall, the first of its kind along the frontier with Lebanon, will be planned in the coming days and building will start in a few weeks, the newspaper said.
Israel's army has requested the UN peacekeeping force stationed in the ceasefire zone coordinate with Lebanon in order to prevent clashes.
The border between Israel and Lebanon is disputed by the two sides and the UN-drawn "Blue Line" covers just part of the stretch, established in 2000 to determine whether Israel had withdrawn from Lebanon after its 1982 invasion.