- 1 jan 2011
US prefers negotiation to Palestinian UN drive
WASHINGTON (AFP) - The United States reacted Friday to a Palestinian and Arab draft resolution set to go to the United Nations urging Israel to halt Jewish settlements, saying only that it preferred negotiations.
"On the Middle East, our view remains unchanged. The only viable path is through a negotiated agreement that resolves the core issues and ends the conflict," said State Department spokesman Philip Crowley.
A senior Palestinian official said Thursday that the UN Security Council would receive in the coming days a draft Palestinian and Arab resolution calling for the new settlements halt.
Following a breakdown of direct peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians over settlements, the Arab League said on December 15 it would seek a Security Council resolution against Israel, ordering a halt to Jewish settlements.
It also called on the United States, which has vetoed resolutions against Israel in the past, not to obstruct such a move.
The draft resolution is due to come before the United Nations in January, when Bosnia takes the rotating presidency of the Security Council from the United States.
It will test whether the United States is willing to use its veto in support of Israel which is concerned over the Palestinian strategy. Israel has reportedly ordered its own diplomats to mount a counter-offensive.
If the Palestinians lose this battle, they are considering calling for their territories to be placed under international administration.
Direct talks between Israel and the Palestinians launched on September 2 were suspended three weeks later after an Israeli moratorium on settlement building expired and Israel refused to renew it.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=347151 7 jan 2012, 21:23 , Respect -
Maria 6 jan 2011
New Settlement Plan to Split Silwan in Two
A new settlement project in Silwan will see the Jerusalem neighborhood split in two parts, a Silwan committee official revealed to Ma'an News on Thursday.
The new development plan is set for 5 dunums of land, some of which incorporate the Silwan valley, a fertile area situated southeast of the Old City walls, a spokesman for the Land and Real Estate Defense Committee said.
Fakhri Abu Diab, head of the Committee, noted that the development for the zone would include the construction of public buildings, a complex of swimming pools and leisure areas. He also said he disclosed the new plan would involve the demolition of 30 homes, eight of which are in the Silwan area, and another 22 nearer the spring. Abu Diab warned saying after the demolitions "settlers will be in full control of the area."
The area, also known as the Valley of Jehosaphat or Kideron Valley, includes a spring, identified as Job's Well. Its name originates from a passage in the Quran stating that a spring burst forth where God commanded Job to stamp his foot. The spring is estimated to be over 100 meters deep.
Earlier in 2009, Jerusalem municipality announced plans to demolish more than 20 houses in Silwan, near Ayin Silwan, a spring and water resource for the community, transforming the neighborhood into a park, the King's Garden.
http://bit.ly/fj75wZ
'It's not politics it's just business'
'Threats and blackmailing.' Masri
Bashar Masri's plan to purchase Israeli real estate firm plagued by debt is rocking the business sector, right-wing elements. This may be the first time a Palestinian takes over an Israeli public company - Digal Investments & Holdings, which is building luxury apartments for Jews in east Jerusalem. Proposed deal emerges as micro-cosmos of Israeli-Palestinian conflict, but Masri insists: 'It's just business'.
RAMALLAH - Bashar Masri is trying to to calm the panic. "I'm not interested in Israeli real estate or any Israeli company, not in Tel Aviv and not in Netanya," he stresses, "but in a residential project in Jabel Mukaber, a Palestinian neighborhood in east Jerusalem. I'm not a politician but a national Palestinian businessman who knows his work, and if my business serves my people I feel better."
In his Ramallah office, a villa near the famous Mukataa compound, he tries to explain to all the dissenting voices: There is no reason to be concerned. This is not a story of Palestinian money taking over the Israeli economy.
And yet, there is a story here. A story mixing money and politics; motivations of the new Palestinians and the escalation within the Right; a purely financial interest and a national struggle. Masri, a millionaire, Palestinian businessman and an American citizen has been trying to purchase the majority shares in Digal, a real estate company traded in the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange whose prize project is an upscale residential area in Jerusalem called Nof Zion.
Digal owners Yehuda Levy and Meir Shamir, posed no objection. The company has a NIS 140 million ($39.61 million) debt. Most of the shareholders were also favorable. But Nof Zion is a project situated in the heart of Palestinian neighborhood Jabel Mukaber in east Jerusalem, and as if that wasn't enough, the brother of Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat is also indirectly linked to the company.
The proposed deal has prompted the opposition of right-wing elements who are pressuring the relevant parties into preventing the deal from going through and working on an alternative purchase offer. Meanwhile, Digal's share lost more than 80% of its value in the past year.
Masri seems surprised by the Israeli response to his bid. "I wish to purchase a commercial body but the deal is being plagued by threats and blackmailing," he says angrily. "If in this case the politics of national-religious zealots mars the deal it shall be a shameful blow to the Israeli liberal economy. Israeli businessmen come to me time and time again seeking help in entering the Palestinian market and the Arab world. How can I help them when Israelis succumb to bigots and zealots who don't want me because I'm a Palestinian?"
Masri, 50, is a well-dressed, well-spoken man who is both fluent in English and Arabic, but not Hebrew. He is the son of a wealthy Palestinian family from Nablus. His grandfather was the Jordanian parliament speaker and other relatives served as Nablus mayors. It's one of the wealthiest families in the Palestinian Authority. Bashar himself made his own fortune in the real estate, media and financial business, both in the PA and in Arab states.
Purchasing Digal is meant to be his first foray into the Israeli market. "Some two years ago I heard about a company building a project in Jabel Mukaber that had fallen into debt and was looking for investors," he relates. "They were planning on building some 400 luxury flats and built 90 units at the first stage but had trouble selling them. They could not find an Israeli investor as the project was in the heart of a big Arab neighborhood such a location is prone to trouble, especially if the project is aimed at the national-religious public."
Masri followed the reports and saw an opportunity. "He's interested in the real estate aspect, he's not a political person," says an Israeli associated with Masri. "He saw a nice plot the Jews were having trouble with and realized he should buy it." Masri appointed Dov Weissglass, former director of the Prime Minister's Office during the Sharon administration, as his representative and an offer was made to Digal. The two first began working together 15 years ago when Masri was looking for investment opportunities in Israel.
In early December 2010, Digal's shareholders chose Weissglass's offer as the best one. It is unclear whether they were aware that the Palestinian businessman was behind the offer at this stage. Weissglass presented the offer as a Cypriot company's bid and according to Attorney Moti Minser, who represents several of the shareholders and Nof Zion residents, "he had concealed the identity of the person behind the mysterious company." Masri claims that the company is listed in Cyprus for tax reasons and that his identity was not withheld at any point.
As far as the institutional investors are concerned, Masri's identity is not an issue. "He's a frequent visitor at President Peres's house," a source in the Israeli market says. "He a Palestinian businessman without an Israel complex, he's welcome here." Meir Shamir, who owns 35% of Digal also has no objections.
Obstacles on the way
Digal bondholders meeting
However, two main obstacles stand in the way of the deal being fulfilled. One is Digal co-owner Yehuda Levy who serves as the company's CEO and the other, more prominent obstacle are right-wing elements and Nof Zion residents.
Ninety-one apartments have already been built in Nof Zion and most have been sold. Several dozen residents who fanaticized about a Jewish neighborhood with synagogues and a security fence are now fighting to prevent the deal from going through. Some have even bought Digal stock to impede the purchase. The residents claimed that they face damages worth NIS 100 million (about $28 million). But it's not just about the money. "Instead of having our own shopping center I will have to buy things at the Arab stores. It's not a fight over shares but over land and character," Attorney Minser says.
Also joining the campaign is religious real estate group B'Emunah, which is calling for a boycott of Bank Leumi, one of Digal's investors. A Digal shareholders meeting held in late December was attended by residents who harshly oppose the deal. During the heated debate some called Masri a terrorist and an enemy of Israel. "He has been arrested many times; his contacts with Palestinian Authority senior officials are well known and it is suspected that some of them are linked to terrorism," Minser said.
Masri does not hide the fact that he was arrested and had spent time in jail as a teen several times. "In 1978, when I was about 15, my friends from school and I started attending anti-settlement demonstrations. I think it was in Kedumim. I was arrested time and time again, for short periods of time. It finally ended when my parents decided to send me to Cairo to complete my studies."
From Cairo to Washington
Conerstone laying ceremony in Nof Zion
His time in Cairo kept Masri away from the PA for a long period. When he graduated from high school he joined his parents who were living in Virginia and started studying Chemical Engineering at Virginia Tech.
He then traveled to Saudi Arabia, spent a couple of years in London and later moved to Washington, where he worked for a small consulting company. He married an American woman, Jane, obtained US citizenship and became a father of two daughters, Tamara and Dina. The couple traveled to Israel while Jane was pregnant with Tamara but were refused entry as it was claimed Masri posed a security risk. The US made a diplomatic appeal to Israel on the matter.
In Washington he turned to business and started reconnecting to the Palestinian territories and politics. He held contact with Saeb Erekat and Hanan Ashrawi at one point. "Journalist Akram Haniyeh, who was one of the organizers of the first intifada and a close friend of mine, came to Washington and I visited him in Tunisia where he served as Arafat's advisor," Masri says.
"What drew me to the Palestinian economy was that it was based on small businesses, almost always family businesses which are unable to create ties with international companies," he explains. "It's a hindrance that prevents the Palestinian economy from moving forward and that is why, when I came here, I started setting up investment companies and technological companies together with partners and friends," he says.
One of his first orders of the day was founding the Al-Ayyam daily, which has the second largest circulation in the Palestinian territories and is considered affiliated with the Palestinian establishment. He also established a holdings company and a technological group which provides outsourcing services to Israeli companies.
"That was in 1996 through to 2000, but then came the (second) intifada and everything stopped. I turned to business overseas a little in the Gulf, Jordan, Egypt but mainly in Morocco where I'm building housing units. I have an American passport so I can easily conduct business abroad, and I enter Israel on a tourist visa." There were some setbacks on the way though. In Gaza, for instance, he tried building an agriculture export company, but the export ban has suspended its activity.
'We get help from Israel'
Masri's biggest project in the Palestinian territories is Rawabi, a new city he's building between Ramallah and Nablus with the help of Qatari funds. "It's a modern, one of a kind residential project in the West Bank which will ultimately include 5,000 units and 40,000 residents." Work is underway, demand is high and Masri is optimistic about the project's success and about providing Palestinians with work opportunities.
"Like all Palestinian businesses, I have to get help from Israel. We use Israeli raw materials like gas, cement, electricity, and that has led me to make many acquaintances."
The collaboration with Israel has created another problem for Masri. Work on Rawabi is being performed as part of the boycott of settlement goods and Masri makes a point of not working with Israeli companies that manufacture products in settlements. In response, 48 Knesset members signed a letter to the government earlier this week demanding that Israeli firms taking part in the construction in Rawabi be boycotted. But Masri continues to stress that his interests lie only in the PA: "Despite my many connections in Israel I have no interest in buying and investing in Israel only Palestine."
The Nof Zion project was initially meant to attract wealthy foreign residents, but demand proved low, not helped by the fact that two terrorists were reported to have been from Jabel Mukaber. Digal then started selling apartments to the national-religious public but then came financial problems. A visit in the area reveals a beautiful if somewhat deserted compound.
Masri does not want to change the area's character. His plan, should the deal come through, is to build the remaining 300 apartments and sell them to Arabs from a medium-high socio-economic level while separating the Jewish and Arab sides. He does not intend to interrupt the lives of the Jewish residents. "I'm not engaged in charity here, only business," he stresses. "I'm not interested in the land as such, unless one can build on it and develop it. What attracts me is that the project already has building permits. Everyone in Israel knows the difficulties in getting such permits and when it involves Arab-Israelis it's virtually impossible."
Those opposed to the deal are planning to submit a bid by a "wealthy, foreign Jewish businessman who is willing to buy the entire project," Minser says. There are also rumors of another bid by French-Israeli businessman Shmuel Flatto-Sharon.
All the talk about fear of "Arab money" taking over Israeli projects finds Masri annoyed. "What Arab money?! I wish rich Arabs from the oil states would give me money to develop the Palestinian economy. We may have Qatari partnerships in Rawabi, but we're always trying to get Arabs to invest here and there is virtually zero response. And this is just for Palestinian investments, not in Israel. Jabel Mukaber, like all of east Jerusalem, is part of Palestine."
Meanwhile, Masri is hoping that financial interests decide the fate of the deal and that politics are left at the door. "I was told that during a debate last week a religious law expert spoke in favor of the deal as people shouted at him: 'Be ashamed of yourself, take off your yarmulke, you're not Jewish!' I have no interest dealing with such people, all I'm interested in is business and the financial development of Palestine %u2013 not Israel," Masri says.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4010020,00.html
Palestinians seek early UNSC vote
The Palestinian representative to the UN, Riyad Mansour
A UN resolution on Israeli settlement activities could be put on vote as early as next week since the Palestinians started to negotiate the draft resolution with Security Council envoys.
The Palestinian representative to the UN, Riyad Mansour, said he started meetings with Security Council envoys on Wednesday on the draft resolution drawn up with the backing of Arab states, AFP reported.
"Now we are having talks about the drafting language," Mansour said.
"There could be a vote on January 19, but it could be before, as early as next week, if countries are ready," he went on to say.
The resolution would condemn Israel's settlement activities and reiterate an existing UN demand for all building work in the occupied territories to stop.
There are already 191 countries at the United Nations who believe that the settlements are illegal," Mansour further explained.
The United Nations Security Council is to debate the Middle East on January 19.
Mansour also rejected reports suggesting that the resolution was aimed at preventing the resumption of talks with Israel, saying it could open the path to return to negotiations.
"We think that the resolution would bring us back to the path of talks," the Palestinian representative noted.
Direct talks between Israel and the PA once again reached a deadlock after Tel Aviv refused to extend a moratorium on settlement constructions in the occupied West Bank.
Palestinians have demanded Israel freeze settlement construction, arguing that the continuation of settlement activities reduces the chance of establishing an independent Palestinian state.
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/158866.html
Silwan committee: New settlement at Job's Well
JERUSALEM (Ma'an) -- A new settlement project in the Jerusalem community of Silwan will see the neighborhood split in two, a spokesman for the area's Land and Real Estate Defense Committee said on Thursday.
The new development, set for 5 dunums of land some of which take up the Silwan valley, a fertile area southeast of the Old City walls known alternatively as the Valley of Jehosaphat, or Kideron Valley.
The area contains a spring, known as Job's Well, and variously identified as the Well of Nehemiah, and En Rogel. Its locally-known name comes from a passage in the Quran, saying a spring burst forth where God commanded Job to stamp his foot. The spring is estimated to be more than 100 meters deep.
Fakhri Abu Diab, the head of the committee, said a development plan for the zone included the construction of public buildings, a network of swimming pools and activity areas.
Plans Abu Diab said he uncovered would include the demolition of 30 homes, eight of which are in the Silwan area, and another 22 closer to the spring.
Following the demolitions, he said, "settlers will be in full control of the area."
In 2009, Israel's Jerusalem municipality announced plans to demolish more than 20 homes in the Silwan area, near Ayin Silwan, a spring and water resource for the community, turning the residential neighborhood into a park, the King's Garden.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=348681 7 jan 2012, 21:23 , Respect -
Maria 3 jan 2011
Israeli walkout cancels Medvedev visit
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev
A walkout staged by Israeli foreign ministry workers has forced Tel Aviv to cancel an official planned visit by Russian President Dmitry Medvedev.
The visit, which had been scheduled for mid-January, was postponed because Israeli workers, who are demanding improved salary conditions, are on strike, Ha'aretz reported on Monday.
Employees of the ministry said on Sunday that they would ruin the visit by not participating in preparations.
The Russian president was expected to be accompanied by a delegation of 500 members, including 300 businessmen, ministers and senior officials.
The cancelation comes after Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov urged Israel last week to stop constructing illegal settler units in the occupied Palestinian territories.
"It is absolutely necessary to halt all unilateral actions that might influence the outcome of the talks, above all, the settlement activity Israel has been pursuing in breach of the UN Security Council resolutions," he said.
The ongoing Israeli settlement construction stalled the direct talks between Israeli Premier Benjamin Netanyahu and acting Palestinian Authority Chief Mahmoud Abbas.
The two sides began US-sponsored talks in early September, but the expiry of partial settlement freeze in late September put an end to the process.
Abbas has stressed that he would not return to the talks unless Israel stops its illegal construction activities.
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/158461.html
Israel blames US for settlement issue
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has blamed US President Barack Obama for cancelling a package of incentives in exchange for a three-month settlement freeze.
"The United States asked us to consider extending the freeze by three months and the truth is that we were prepared to do so," Netanyahu was quoted as saying by Ha'aretz on Monday.
The US agreed to give twenty F-35 warplanes to Israel and to veto any anti-Israeli resolution at the United Nations Security Council if Israel extends its partial settlement freeze for 90 days.
The ongoing Israeli settlement construction in the occupied Palestinian territories stalled the US-sponsored direct talks between the Israeli premier and acting Palestinian Authority Chief Mahmoud Abbas.
The two sides began talks in early September, but the end of partial settlement freeze in late September put an end to the process.
Abbas has reiterated that he would not return to the talks unless Israel stops its illegal construction activities.
"I told Obama that I am prepared to go with this to the cabinet and that I will be able to enforce the move, but then I received the surprising phone call from the Americans who said they no longer demand that Israel extends the freeze," said Netanyahu.
This is while Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak has said in November that the Obama administration would offer more so-called incentives to Israel, should Tel Aviv extend the 10-month settlement freeze for 90 days.
"If we reach an agreement, they [US officials] are offering us a deal six or seven times larger," Barak said.
US officials are expected to travel to Tel Aviv in mid-January in order to push forward the stalled negotiations, Netanyahu said.
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/158444.html 7 jan 2012, 21:23 , Respect -
Maria 7 jan 2011
PA seeks UN vote next week on resolution condemning West Bank settlements
Whether or not U.S. will support the resolution remains unclear; U.S. previously said resolution wont bring two sides closer to peace deal.
The Palestinians are hoping for a vote next week on a UN resolution demanding that Israel stop all settlement activities immediately and completely, a Palestinian diplomat said Thursday.
The draft Security Council resolution, obtained by The Associated Press, would reaffirm that all Israeli settlements in Palestinian territory occupied since 1967, including East Jerusalem, are illegal and constitute a major obstacle to the achievement of a just, lasting and comprehensive peace.
The latest Israeli-Palestinian peace talks broke down after three weeks in September in a dispute over Israeli settlements. The Palestinians say they will not negotiate as long as Israel builds homes for Jews in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, lands the Palestinians claim for a future state. U.S. mediators have returned to indirect talks to seek a way out of the impasse.
The United States, Israel's closest ally, has voiced opposition to settlement building, but it also opposes the resolution on grounds that it will not move both sides closer to a two-state solution in which Israel and the Palestinians could live side-by-side in peace. It remains unclear, however, if the U.S. would veto the measure or abstain in a vote.
The resolution puts the Obama administration in a difficult position because a veto would anger the Palestinians and its many supporters in the Arab world and elsewhere - and an abstention would anger the Israelis. Either way, the U.S. vote could complicate efforts to resume direct Israeli-Palestinian negotiations.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said last week in Brazil that the Palestinian draft used language similar to that used by U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, who has criticized settlements, so" we don't see why the U.S. would veto it."
Riyad Mansour, the Palestinian UN observer, has been meeting separately with the 15 Security Council members, as well as other UN ambassadors, to lobby for support for the resolution.
The Palestinian diplomat, speaking anonymously because consultations have been private, said the Palestinians are finalizing the text, possibly by Friday, and hope for a Security Council vote next week.
Karean Peretz, spokeswoman for Israel's UN Mission, stressed that the only road to peace is through direct negotiations.
She accused the Palestinians of repeatedly bypassing direct talks during the past year, which "only move us further away from returning to the negotiation table and reaching a two-state solution."
"Israel has demonstrated time and time again its commitment to peace and we hope that the international community won't allow these moves to divert both sides from reaching the real goal - peace and stability in our region," Peretz said.
The draft resolution calls on Israel and the Palestinians to continue negotiations and resolve all final status issues by September 2011 as called for by the Quartet of Mideast peacemakers - the U.S., the UN, the European Union and Russia. It also urges intensified international and regional diplomatic efforts to support and accelerate the peace process.
http://bit.ly/gH5r0s 7 jan 2012, 21:23 , Respect -
Maria 9 jan 2011
Israel Begins Housing Project
By Charles Levinson
JERUSALEM%u2014Construction began on Sunday on the first new Jewish housing project in the predominantly Palestinian East Jerusalem neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah since the land was conquered in 1967, despite longstanding objections from Washington.
The decision to go forward with the project deals a further blow to U.S. efforts to revive the moribund peace process, which collapsed last year after Israel refused to end settlement building on land claimed by Palestinians.
"While [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu continues his public relations campaign regarding the peace process, on the ground he is rapidly moving to prevent the establishment of a sovereign Palestinian state," Palestinian chief negotiator Saeb Erakat said.
A spokesman for Mr. Netanyahu defended the right of Jews to live in all neighborhoods of Jerusalem.
"The idea that Jews should be forbidden to buy property in certain neighborhoods of Jerusalem is not something that is acceptable to the Israeli government," the spokesman said.
Bulldozers began demolishing the building, known as the Shepherd Hotel, early Sunday morning, culminating a roughly 25-year effort by the site's Jewish American owner, gambling and bingo magnate Irving Moskowitz to develop the controversial site with 20 housing units for Jews. Mr. Moskowitz's lawyer refused to comment.
The Shepherd Hotel, built in the 1930s for Jerusalem's then-mufti, Amin al-Husseini, sits in the heart of Sheikh Jarrah, a Palestinian neighborhood just north of the sacred Old City, which is home to some of Judaism and Islam's most sacred sites.
Israel took ownership of the property after it conquered and later annexed East Jerusalem from Jordan in the 1967 war. In the mid-1980s it sold the property to Mr. Moskowitz. Since then, Mr. Moskowitz's plans to develop the site have slowly but steadily advanced, though successive Israeli prime ministers have avoided giving it final approval.
In July 2009, shortly after President Barack Obama called for a full freeze on Jewish building in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, Mr. Netanyahu allowed final approval for the project to go ahead.
Jewish settler groups ramped up efforts to populate Palestinian neighborhoods of East Jerusalem with Jews after former U.S. President Bill Clinton released his parameters for a peace deal after the collapse of peace talks in 2000. Those parameters called for the division of Jerusalem, with predominantly Jewish neighborhoods going to Israel and predominantly Palestinian neighborhoods going to a future Palestinian state.
Until recently, Sheikh Jarrah was one of the only East Jerusalem neighborhoods which Jewish settler groups had failed to penetrate. But in the past couple of years, a handful of Jewish families have moved into the neighborhood after Israeli courts upheld their claims to homes that had belonged to Jews before 1948 and evicted the Palestinian families living in them.
With bulldozers roaring beyond him, Daniel Luria, director of Ateret Cohanim, an organization backed by Mr. Moskowitz that works to settle Jews in East Jerusalem, said the project marked a significant step forward for his organization which has settled hundreds of Jews in Palestinian neighborhoods throughout East Jerusalem in the past decade.
"The reality is today there is no Arab East Jerusalem," Mr. Luria said. "Dividing this city is impossible because of projects like this. The whole discussion of land for peace is dead."
A few feet away, Abdel Qader al-Husseini, a relative of the site's original Palestinian owner, found a rare point of agreement with Mr. Luria.
"Building a settlement here means the center of East Jerusalem will be split and divided, and this will kill any chance for peace," he said.
http://on.wsj.com/fcAL3s
Israel destroys East Jerusalem hotel for settlements
Israeli bulldozers have demolished part a hotel in East Jerusalem to make way for 20 new homes for Jewish settlers.
The destruction of the Shepherd Hotel has angered Palestinians, who want East Jerusalem as the capital of a future Palestinian state.
Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas said Israel was destroying any chance of returning to peace talks by carrying out the demolition.
Israel says it has a right to build homes in any part of the city.
The Shepherd Hotel was built in the 1930s and was once home to Amin al-Husseini, the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem who became an ally of Adolf Hitler in WWII.
Its current ownership is disputed - Israel says it belongs to a Jewish-American property developer but Palestinians say it was seized illegally after Israel occupied East Jerusalem in 1967.
"By doing this, Israel has destroyed all the US efforts and ended any possibility of a return to negotiations," said Nabil Abu Rudeina, a spokesman for Mr Abbas.
'Erase identity'
Attempts by the US to revive peace negotiations stalled last year, after Israel refused to end settlement building on occupied Palestinian land.
"Israel has no right to build in any part of east Jerusalem, or any part of the Palestinian land occupied in 1967," said Mr Abu Rudeina.
The Palestinian governor of Jerusalem, Adnan al-Husseini, said it was the latest in a line of demolitions of historic buildings and accused Israel of "trying to erase any Palestinian identity from the city of Jerusalem".
The US had criticised the project as far back as 2009, when building approval was granted.
But Israeli officials said the demolition had been carried out legally and defended its decision.
"This is something that every country does in its own domain without the necessity to give any report to any other government," said the minister for national infrastructure, Uzi Landau.
Nearly half a million Jews live in more than 100 settlements built since Israel's 1967 occupation of the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
The settlements are considered illegal under international law, although Israel disputes this.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-12146277
East Jerusalem: Construction of Jewish neighborhood begins
Shepherd Hotel leveled
Shepherd Hotel leveled to make room for 20 housing units designated for Jews. Peace Now: Extreme right taking over east Jerusalem like thieves in the night.
The Shepherd Hotel in east Jerusalem's Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood was demolished Sunday morning. The demolition was carried out by the Jewish developer who purchased the land after receiving a building permit from the municipality at the beginning of the year for the construction of a new Jewish neighborhood at the site.
The new neighborhood will include some 20 housing units designated for Jews.
The news that the developer, Irwin Moskowitz, had received a permit was first revealed on Ynet during a meeting between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Barack Obama in Washington. The news led the US to express its strong opposition to the decision to construct a neighborhood in that area, which is considered politically sensitive.
Attorney Elisha Peleg, chairman of the Likud faction in the Jerusalem Municipality welcomed the beginning of the construction, saying it would "strengthen the Jewish foothold in east Jerusalem.
"Jerusalem is in need of many housing projects to lower apartment prices. I call for the construction of many Jewish neighborhoods in east Jerusalem to prevent the city's division and maintain its unity."
Peace Now Secretary-General Yariv Oppenheimer said in response to the hotel's demolition that "Netanyahu and (Jerusalem Mayor Nir) Barkat have decided to isolate themselves from the world and allow Moskowitz and his friends in the extreme right to take over east Jerusalem like thieves in the night. The settlers, with the government's backing, are hurting Israel's international status and destroying any chance of a peace agreement."
The Solidarity Sheik Jarrah movement said, "The gang of settlers is continuing to grab the entire country by the balls, and their yes men, Bibi and (Defense Minister Ehud) Barak are continuing to destroy the country.
"Building a new settlement in Jerusalem goes against all of Israel's interests and threatens to destroy whatever is left of Israeli diplomacy and ignite Jerusalem once again," the movement said.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4010762,00.html
Israel begins work on contentious new East Jerusalem neighborhood
Bulldozers arrive in Sheikh Jarrah early Sunday to raze structure on Shepherd Hotel compound, where 20 new Jewish housing units will be built despite U.S. and British condemnation.
Israeli forces began construction around the contentious Shepherd Hotel in a predominantly Arab neighborhood in East Jerusalem on Sunday, to pave the way for a new Jewish neighborhood in the area.
The Jerusalem District Planning and Building Council last year approved a decision to raze a structure near the historic building, despite heavy condemnation from U.S. President Barack Obama's administration.
The Shepherd Hotel itself will remain intact, but a wing added during Jordanian rule to room for 20 housing units is being torn down. A three-story parking structure and an access road will also be constructed on site.
The Shepherd Hotel, built under Jerusalem Mufti Haj Amin al-Husseini, was purchased in 1985 for $1 million by American Jewish tycoon Irving Moskowitz.
Moskowitz is an influential supporter of the right-wing group Ateret Cohanim and a proponent of heightened Israeli settlement in East Jerusalem.
The local planning council initially approved the construction plan in July 2010, prompting Britain and the United States to call on Israel to cancel the plans. The council issued its final approval for the project in March, enabling the settlers to begin their construction at once.
Bulldozers arrive at the scene early Sunday morning and within hours had demolished most of the targeted structure.
http://bit.ly/gdSCYR 7 jan 2012, 21:23 , Respect -
Maria 10 jan 2011
Palestinian envoy: US not convinced on settlements
The Palestinian UN envoy said on Monday that his and other UN delegations have yet to persuade Washington to support a Security Council push to condemn Israeli settlement work, but they will keep trying.
Riyad Mansour, the permanent Palestinian observer to the United Nations, said that an initial draft resolution that condemns and calls for a halt to all West Bank settlements was delivered to the 15-nation UN Security Council in December.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4011893,00.html 7 jan 2012, 21:23 , Respect -
Maria 11 jan 2011
Population Growth Higher in Settlements than in Israel
Israel's Central Bureau of Statistics last month released the most recent population statistics for West Bank settlements. The figures show that during 2010 the growth rate was 4.5 per cent compared to only 2.9 per cent for Israel as a whole.
Despite the ten month construction freeze that ended in September, the Jewish population in West Bank settlements, illegal under international law, grew by nearly 15,000 and now totals 327,800. These figures do not include the estimated 230,000 Jews living in annexed East Jerusalem.
The rate of growth across the settlements was not uniform. Beit El for example grew by only 3 per cent to 5,867, whilst Bracha saw an 11 per cent rise. Of the larger settlements Beitar Illit's population rose by 6.4 per cent to 40,000 and Modiin Illit by 7.7 per cent to nearly 50,000.
MK Yaakov Katz, head of the of the National Union party, said that at current growth rates and without a construction freeze, the Jewish population in the West Bank can be expected to hit a half-million by the middle of 2018. Announcing the data on Israeli television Katz went on to say that, "The extensive growth rate in our Biblical homeland expresses the deep and strong will of the People of Israel to settle its land in its entirety as the Land of its Forefathers, to which only they have full rights."
In reporting on the figures, Arutz Sheva, an Israeli news site which promotes settlement in the West Bank, also noted that the Israeli PM Benyamin Netanyahu recently told the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee that, "It should be rembered that we, as Jews, have been within the broad borders of the Land of Israel not tens or hundreds of years, but thousands of years. When the Palestinians talk about historic rights, they should remember that they have been there a shorter time. The rights of the Jews to Hebron, Beit El, Rachel's Tomb and Shilo are greater and much more significant. Therefore these places should remain in our hands in any arrangement."
http://www.imemc.org/article/60393