- 31 oct 2010
Israel expanding settlement near Nablus
A view of the Israeli settlement of Shvut Rachel, near the northern West Bank city of Nablus
Israeli settlers have installed a dozen caravans near one of the illegal settlements close to the northern West Bank city of Nablus, witnesses say.
The reports on Saturday come days after locals reported that Israeli forces in armored vehicles bulldozed a piece of land next to Shvut Rachel settlement to prepare for the installation of the caravans, Ma'an news agency reported.
Shvut Rachel was erected on confiscated Palestinian land in Jalud village where the settlement and five others set up in the same area have taken over up to 80 percent of the village's land.
Parts of the confiscated land were planted with olive trees, which villagers have only been allowed to access twice in the last decade, said the village mayor Abdullah Hajj Muhammad.
Commenting on the caravan installation, a representative of the settlement denied any major expansion plans.
"The earth works observed are the slight enlarging of the width of the road that comes off Highway 60 to Shiloh and on the Shvut Rachel and a bit further," said Yisrael Medad.
According to Medad, the construction is on either side of the road for safety concerns. It aims to "prevent accidents as the road is too narrow for two buses at the same time on the curves."
Earlier, United Nations Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Robert Serry voiced alarm over the massive construction work launched since the end of Israel's partial settlement freeze in late September.
Israelis have started to excavate for and build at least 900 settlement units across the occupied West Bank since the expiry of the 10-month partial freeze which allowed construction in East al-Quds (Jerusalem).
Palestinians have long demanded a halt to Israeli settlement projects, especially in East al-Quds which they see as the capital of their future Palestinian state.
They argue Israel's judaization of the illegally annexed city through settlement expansions would render the concept of an independent Palestinian state meaningless.
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/148976.html 7 jan 2012, 16:08 , Respect -
Maria 1 nov 2010
Settlement expansion spotted in Salfit
SALFIT (Ma'an) -- General Federation of Palestinian Workers Unions in Salfit monitored the settlement expansion activities in different places in Salfit.
Mahmoud Al-Bar, the head of the federation, said settlers carried out construction-related work in or near Ariel, Revava, Pedu'el, the Barkan industrial estate, and other settlements.
Land near these settlements was bulldozed in preparation for construction, he said.
He also said Salfit has been divided into three parts by settlements, and is the only governorate of the West Bank where settlements outnumber Palestinian villages.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=329734
Widespread Work Commences in Talmon Settlement North of Ramallah
Ramallah PNN - Eyewitnesses in the Qabliya Farms village north of Ramallah said the illegal settlement of Talmon had seen several days worth of widespread construction work.
For more than ten straight days, the witnesses said, Israelis have been working around the clock in the areas of al-Zahur and Abu Ansar, bulldozing land and building new roads. Resident complained that Israeli authorities had barred them from reaching their land, which legally belongs to the people of the village.
Villagers said they had complained to officials, human rights organizations, and the International Committee of the Red Cross in order to stop the assaults, but had not received a response.
Israeli authorities issued a statement that part of the Qabliya Farms area was classified as sate territory under a 1984 agreement. Villagers were not spared during the last period of settler violence, which claimed the life of student Muhammad Sharitah on March 3, 2008.
Source: Wafa (Palestinian News & Information Agency)
http://bit.ly/b96fz7 7 jan 2012, 16:09 , Respect -
Maria 7 nov 2010
Italy urges Israel settlement freeze
Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini
Italy urges Israel should expand its partial freeze on settlement construction in the West Bank until a final deal is reached with the Palestinian Authority (PA).
Europe has to make a greater effort to convince Tel Aviv "that it is in the best interest of Israel to reach a peace deal," Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini told reporters on a visit to the Saudi capital of Riyadh on Saturday, AFP reported.
That means Israel needs to extend the moratorium on settlement building in the occupied West Bank and East al-Quds (Jerusalem) that expired at the end of September, halting three-week-old peace talks, Frattini stated.
"An 'extension' meaning until a final agreement ... is reached," he noted.
The PA pulled out of the US-sponsored direct talks with Israel after Tel Aviv ignored its repeated calls on Israel to reinstate the 10-month partial freeze on construction work on occupied Palestinian land.
The PA negotiators argued they cannot hold talks on a two-state deal as long as Israel keeps building settlement units on lands the Palestinians hope to found their future state on.
During Frattini's meetings with Saudi officials, Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal said the Arab League would take the Palestinian case to the UN Security Council (UNSC) if the impasse lingers on.
A committee of Arab League foreign ministers meeting in Libya gave Israel a one-month deadline before they would take their complaint to the UNSC. The top diplomats are scheduled to meet again after the 30-day period to decide on the next step.
The PA resumed direct negotiations with Israel on September 2 upon an invitation by the US state department, drawing sharp criticism from Palestine's public and other major factions for "surrendering to US and Israeli pressure."
http://www.presstv.com/detail/149929.html 7 jan 2012, 16:09 , Respect -
Maria 7 nov 2010
Big settlement projects approved as Netanyahu flies to US
OCCUPIED JERUSALEM, (PIC)-- The Israeli government approved three settlement projects in occupied Jerusalem on the eve of its premier's departure for Washington to meet with US president Barack Obama.
Different Israeli sources said that one of these projects is to build 1, 250 settlement units in Mount Abu Ghoneim in addition to building 983 units in the context of the plan number 10310, stage C.
The second project is to finish stage B of building 42 settlement units in Har Homa B area, also located in Mount Abu Ghoneim. The plan number is 12825, according to the sources.
They said that the Israeli government and its municipal council in Jerusalem have been imposing a news blackout on their settlement activities since the end of the alleged freeze.
They also pointed out to a third project, number 4820B, to build 250 housing units and a huge shopping mall in Ramot settlement, which was established illegally on Palestinian lands in Beit Hanina village and another destroyed and deserted village called Lafta.
For his part, specialist in Jerusalem geography Khalil Tafakji said that the Israeli occupation authority deleted in practice the green line separating the eastern part of Jerusalem from the west and built a number of settlements and outposts on both sides and some on the line.
http://bit.ly/a35fYx 7 jan 2012, 16:09 , Respect -
Maria 8 nov 2010
U.S. 'deeply disappointed' with new East Jerusalem construction plan
State Department Spokesman, J Street condemn plan to build 930 houses beyond the Green Line as Netanyahu makes official U.S. visit.
The United States said it was "deeply disappointed" on Monday by Israel's announcement of a plan to build over 1,000 new Jewish homes beyond the Green Line in Jerusalem.
"We were deeply disappointed by the announcement of advance planning for new housing units in sensitive areas of East Jerusalem. It is counter-productive to our efforts to resume direct negotiations between the parties," said U.S. State Department Spokesman Philip J. Crowley.
Israel's announcement of its program which will allow some 1,300 new housing units to be built beyond the Green Line could prove to be an embarrassment to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is currently in the United States.
"We have long urged both parties to avoid actions which could undermine trust, including in Jerusalem, and will continue to work to resume direct negotiations to address this and other final-status issues," Crowley said.
Ruth Yosef, who chairs the Jerusalem District Planning and Building Committee, published over the weekend details of a program that will allow 930 housing units to be built in the Har Homa C area, with another 48 units in Har Homa B. An additional 320 units are planned for Ramot, also beyond the Green Line.
The pro-Israel lobby J Street also issued a statement criticizing the new building permits, saying that "J Street is profoundly disappointed that the Israeli government has chosen this moment to announce yet another large round of construction in East Jerusalem."
The American-Jewish lobby urged Israel to delay any further construction over the Green Line "until negotiations over the border have been finalized, in the interest of its long-term security and survival as a democracy and as the homeland of the Jewish people."
http://bit.ly/de3Nfs
Israel plan for Jerusalem homes provokes Palestinian outrage
JERUSALEM (AFP) Israel's approval of more than 1,300 new homes in occupied east Jerusalem on Monday sparked a furious reaction from the Palestinians who accused Israel's Benjamin Netanyahu of sabotaging peace talks.
The plans, announced as the Israeli prime minister was in the United States to discuss a revival of peace talks with the Americans, prompted fury from the chief Palestinian negotiator.
"We thought that Netanyahu was going to the United States to stop settlement activity and restart negotiations but it is clear to us that he is determined to destroy the talks," Saeb Erakat told AFP.
"He has shut all the doors to negotiations and we hold him responsible for destroying them."
Direct peace talks which began in early September quickly ran aground when an Israeli moratorium on West Bank settlement construction expired six weeks ago, prompting the Palestinians to freeze ties until Israel reimposes the ban.
Although the 10-month moratorium did not cover building projects in east Jerusalem, Israel has quietly held off from approving projects there in order to avoid political fallout.
Peace Now's Hagit Ofran said the government had published three plans for public review, which includes 1,025 new housing units in Har Homa, a particularly contentious settlement neighbourhood on Jerusalem's southern outskirts, and another 320 units in the northern district of Ramot.
"This is a new stage in Har Homa which really extends it," Ofran said. "It is a big provocation."
Building work at Har Homa, which is near the West Bank city of Bethlehem, began in 1997 during Netanyahu's first term as premier, in a move which led to the breakdown of peace talks.
In a separate development, plans were also approved on Monday for another 32 homes in Pisgat Zeev East, another settlement neighbourhood, a spokeswoman for Israeli rights group Ir Amim told AFP.
Netanyahu is currently in New York where he is expected to hold talks with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on ways to revive moribund peace talks with the Palestinians which are deadlocked over settlement building.
Although headlines about fresh settlement plans looked likely to embarrass the Israeli leader, Peace Now's Ofran said it was highly unlikely Netanyahu was unaware the plans would be made public during his US visit.
"He must have known, they would never dare to do this without his consent," she said of the plans published by the District Planning Committee, a body which falls under Israel's interior ministry.
Interior ministry spokeswoman Efrat Orbach told AFP the plans had been signed off six months ago, but details were only made public late last week when an official notice was published in two newspapers.
"Anybody who wants to object has 60 days in which to do so," she said, pointing out that it was the beginning of a long process which could take several years to materialise.
"Maybe in a few years somebody will actually move in there."
Israel does not consider Har Homa, Ramot or Pisgat Zeev to be settlements because they are within Jerusalem's municipal boundaries, drawn up by Israel after it captured and annexed the mostly Arab eastern half of the city in 1967.
Peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians face imminent collapse in the row about settlement building on occupied land, which restarted on September 26 after temporary restrictions on building expired.
Until now, Netanyahu has refused to contemplate a new temporary freeze on West Bank construction, largely because he lacks support for such a move within his right-wing coalition.
Israel seized Arab east Jerusalem in the Six Day War of 1967 and annexed it shortly afterwards in a move not recognised by the international community or the Palestinians, who consider it the capital of their promised state.
The Palestinians see the settlements as a major threat to the establishment of a viable state, and they view the freezing of settlement activity as a crucial test of Israel's intentions.
http://yhoo.it/c0kf52
Netanyahu faces embarrassment in U.S. over new Jerusalem building plan
Jerusalem District Planning and Building Committee published details of program that will allow 930 new housing units to be built beyond the Green Line.
New embarrassment threatened to cast a cloud over Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's latest U.S. trip Monday as Israeli authorities approved construction of over 1,000 Jewish homes beyond the Green Line in Jerusalem.
Ruth Yosef, who chairs the Jerusalem District Planning and Building Committee, published over the weekend details of a program that will allow 930 housing units to be built in the Har Homa C area, with another 48 units in Har Homa B.
An additional 320 units are planned for Ramot, also beyond the Green Line.
The news coincided with a trip to the United States by Netanyahu, which included a meeting with U.S. Vice President Joe Biden. It was during a trip by Biden to Israel earlier in the year that a diplomatic row erupted between the allies over Israeli plans for 1,600 new Jewish homes in another East Jerusalem neighborhood, Ramat Shlomo.
Har Homa, which lies south of the city center, is itself steeped in controversy and was the cause of a high-profile rift between Netanyahu and the U.S. administration when building began there in the late 1990s.
The Interior Ministry responded to the latest reports of settlement building by saying that the program's details were published in accordance with the law and were approved long before they were published.
During Biden's meeting with Netanyahu on Sunday, the vice president raised the subject of the diplomatic row. The vice president said that he and his old friend Bibi (Netanyahu's nickname) had talked the matter through while sitting in Netanayhu's home. Disagreements between Jerusalem and Washington "have only been tactical in nature," he said, adding that the ties between the two countries are "literally unbreakable."
http://bit.ly/aOn4K2 7 jan 2012, 16:09 , Respect -
Maria 9 nov 2010
Negotiator says Israel wants to kill off Palestinian state
Palestinian workers arrive at a construction site in a Jewish settlement near Jerusalem, Nov. 9, 2010
JERUSALEM - Israel's plan to build new homes on occupied land should be countered by international recognition of a Palestinian state, the chief Palestinian negotiator said on Tuesday.
Raising the stakes in deadlocked U.S.-sponsored peace talks, Saeb Erekat said it was clear from the latest announcement of building plans that Israel wants settlements, not peace.
Israeli unilateralism is a call for immediate international recognition of the Palestinian state, he said in a statement.
The United States swiftly repeated its opposition to any unilateral moves to recognise Palestinian statehood.
Both sides have to avoid unilateral actions that really poison the atmosphere and prevent progress towards negotiations, State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said.
The world paid little attention when the late Yasser Arafat declared a Palestinian state in 1988. But political winds have shifted and Israel today is seriously concerned that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas might win recognition.
Mr. Abbas has floated the idea of going to the United Nations to declare statehood as one option if peace negotiations collapse, but only after first seeking support from Washington.
Israel on Monday announced plans to build 1,300 new homes on occupied West Bank land it has annexed to Jerusalem, and on Tuesday news reports said a further 800 units were planned in the big settlement of Ariel in the northern West Bank.
The building plans were made public as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was in the United States to discuss ways to revive peacemaking that stalled over the settlements.
This kind of activity is never helpful when it comes to peace negotiations, U.S. President Barack Obama said during a visit to Indonesia.
And I'm concerned that we're not seeing each side make the extra effort involved to get a breakthrough that could finally create a framework for a secure Israel living side by side in peace with a sovereign Palestine.
Mr. Netanyahu countered censure of the latest Israeli project by noting that Jewish homes had gone up in Arab East Jerusalem during previous rounds of peace talks, without blocking them.
Jerusalem is not a settlement. Jerusalem is the capital of the State of Israel, Mr. Netanyahu's office said in a statement.
Israel sees no connection between the peace process and planning and building policy in Jerusalem ... The disputes with the United States on the matter of Jerusalem are known ... We hope to overcome them and keep diplomatic talks moving ahead.
Israel captured East Jerusalem, along with the West Bank, in 1967 and regards all of Jerusalem as its capital, including the two neighbourhoods where new housing has been approved. World powers do not accept Israel's claim on East Jerusalem, which Palestinians want for the capital of their future state.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was expected to raise the issue in a meeting with Mr. Netanyahu in New York on Thursday.
State Department spokesman Crowley said the statement from Mr. Netanyahu's office was unhelpful, and rejected its suggestion there was no link between settlement activity and the peace process.
There clearly is a link in the sense that it is incumbent on both parties, as we've insisted all along, that they are responsible for creating conditions for a successful negotiation, Mr. Crowley said. To suggest that this kind of announcement would not have an impact on the Palestinian side I think is incorrect.
U.S. misgivings were echoed by Russia, Britain and European Union foreign affairs chief Catherine Ashton, who said Israel's plan contradicts the efforts by the international community to resume direct negotiations and the decision should be reversed.
Ms. Ashton added: Settlements are illegal under international law, constitute an obstacle to peace and threaten to make a two-state solution impossible.
Direct peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians broke down in September almost as soon as they had begun, after Netanyahu rebuffed Palestinian demands to extend a partial freeze on West Bank settlement building.
Noting that the controversial housing announcement was made while Mr. Netanyahu was in the U.S., Mr. Crowley said: It could very well be that somebody in Israel has made this known in order to embarrass the prime minister and to undermine the process.
Washington was outraged in March when settlement housing plans were announced with what looked like defiant timing as U.S. Vice President Joe Biden was visiting Jerusalem.
http://bit.ly/bhrXwL
Tel Aviv calls al-Quds 'Israeli capital'
Israel has rebuffed international criticism over its plan for new illegal settlement construction, saying that it considers al-Quds (Jerusalem) as its capital.
The office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement on Tuesday that the construction policies have not changed for the past 40 years.
"Jerusalem is not a settlement -- Jerusalem is the capital of Israel," it said, adding that Israel had never stop construction in the city since occupying it after the 1967 war.
Last week, Palestinian Authority Caretaker Prime Minister Salam Feyadh pledged that East al-Quds would be the capital of the future Palestinian state.
The statement came after the international community harshly criticized Tel Aviv for approving the construction of more than 1,300 new settler units in East al-Quds (Jerusalem).
Meanwhile, news reports said on Tuesday that a further 800 units were planned in the massive settlement of Ariel in the northern occupied West Bank.
The Palestinian Authority, the European Union, the United States, and Russia all condemned the decision by Tel Aviv.
The resumption of the illegal construction work has put a halt to direct talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, which began in early September after a 20-month break.
Acting Palestinian Authority Chief Mahmoud Abbas has announced that he will not return to the talks unless Tel Aviv freezes settlement activities in the occupied Palestinian territories.
Palestinians argue that the settlement construction is aimed at preventing the establishment of an independent Palestinian state.
Israel occupied al-Quds and the West Bank in the 1967 war -- a move not recognized by the international community and the United Nations.
http://www.presstv.com/detail/150301.html
UN body holds general debate on Israeli practices
BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- The international community can prevent a collapse of negotiations if the return of refugees serves as a doorway to resolving the conflict, delegates told the UN Fourth Committee Monday as it concluded its general debate on Israeli practices affecting the human rights of the Palestinian people.
Israel's representative said this year's report offered another one-sided narrative, submitting a wide-ranging and harsh criticism of Israel, while failing to mention attacks by Hamas on Israeli villages and towns.
He said the Special Committee instead sought to advance a cynical political agenda, with the goal of vilifying Israel and the right of its citizens to live in peace and security.
While explanations that discussion about Hamas or human rights violations committed by other Palestinian groups did not fall within the mandate of the Special Committee's report were convenient, they excluded the Committee from its basic obligation to pursue impartial and objective fact-finding, that speaker said.
So long as the Special Committee predetermined its conclusion and findings, Israel refused and would continue to refuse to cooperate with a body that prejudged its culpability.
It was absurd, he went on to say, to hear condemnation and criticism of Israel's judiciary and human rights from several countries in the region and beyond countries where the majority of human rights activists were in prison, where there was no freedom of press, and where there was no independent judiciary.
He called on Israel's Arab neighbors to join in taking concrete steps to pursue peace instead of engaging in futile rhetoric, and hoped that the Palestinians would join in direct negotiations without delay.
There were many positive developments in the West Bank and in Gaza over the past year, as had been acknowledged by the diplomatic Quartet and other relevant bodies that sought to promote peace, he said.
Israel was engaged with several United Nations agencies, international organizations, and partner countries, to move forward and substantially improve the West Bank economy, including the removal of hundreds of roadblocks and checkpoints. Those significant steps should not be taken lightly, he said.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=332454
US disputes Israel claim on settlements' link to peace
WASHINGTON (AFP) -- The United States on Tuesday disputed Israel's claims that new settlements authorized in East Jerusalem had no bearing on peace talks with Palestinians.
"There clearly is a link in the sense that it is incumbent upon both parties... they are responsible for creating conditions for a successful negotiation," State Department spokesman Philip Crowley said.
"To suggest that this kind of announcement would not have an impact on the Palestinian side I think is incorrect."
The comments by Washington came as Israel rejected global criticism of moves to build 1,300 new homes in occupied east Jerusalem, arguing that there "no connection between the peace process and the planning and building policies in Jerusalem that have not changed for the last 40 years."
Crowley said that "we do understand that Israel has its own position," but added that the latest statements from Israel "are counterproductive" to US efforts to get the parties into direct negotiations for a peace agreement.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is currently visiting the United States, is to meet Thursday with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
The United States said Monday it was "deeply disappointed" over Israel's announced plans to build 1,300 new settler homes in annexed east Jerusalem and said the plans could hurt efforts to salvage peace efforts.
Clinton was set to hold a videoconference Wednesday with Palestinian prime minister Salam Fayyad as part of the peace effort.
Crowley, when asked about the possibility of additional US aid to the Palestinian authority, said that the new fiscal year that the new US government fiscal year opens up "the opportunity to make an additional contribution" to the Palestinians.
The top US diplomat also was set to meet Wednesday with Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit on "regional support for our ongoing efforts," according to Crowley.
Direct peace talks which began in early September quickly ran aground when an Israeli moratorium on West Bank settlement construction expired six weeks ago, prompting the Palestinians to freeze ties until Israel reimposes the ban.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=332470
PM's office: Israel rejects criticism over Jerusalem building
JERUSALEM (AFP) -- Israel on Tuesday rejected global criticism of moves to build 1,300 new homes in occupied East Jerusalem, insisting it would never limit construction in its "capital," the premier's office said.
"Israel sees no connection between the peace process and the planning and building policies in Jerusalem that have not changed for the last 40 years," said a statement from the office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
"Jerusalem is not a settlement -- Jerusalem is the capital of the state of Israel," it said, adding that no Israeli government had ever curbed building in the Holy City since taking over and annexing the eastern sector during the 1967 Six Day War.
"Building in Jerusalem has never interfered with the peace process," it said, while admitting that differences with Washington over Jerusalem had been ongoing over the last 43 years.
Plans to increase building in East Jerusalem were made public as Netanyahu was on a five-day trip to the United States to discuss a revival of peace talks.
He is expected to hold talks about the moribund peace process with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in New York on Thursday.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=332420
PM: Jerusalem not a settlement
In US, Netanyahu says Israel sees no connection between peace process and construction in the capital. 'All Israeli governments have built in all parts of the city for 40 years, and we still signed peace deals with Egypt, Jordan,' premier adds.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has toughened his stance ahead his scheduled meeting with the United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in Washington on Thursday, rejecting any American and international criticism regarding building in east Jerusalem.
"Jerusalem is not a settlement Jerusalem is the capital of the State of Israel. Israel has never restricted itself regarding any kind of building in the city, which is home to some 800,000 people including during the 10-month construction moratorium in the West Bank," the PM said Tuesday.
"Israel sees no connection between the peace process and the planning and building policy in Jerusalem, something that hasn't changed for the past 40 years. All Israeli governments have built in all parts of the city in the past 40 years.
"During this time," he added, "We have signed peace agreements with Egypt and Jordan and have held negotiations with the Palestinians for 17 years. Construction in Jerusalem has never obstructed the peace process."
Netanyahu spoke just hours after US President Barack Obama told a press conference in Indonesia that Israeli construction in east Jerusalem "is never helpful when it comes to peace negotiations."
The Israeli premier added that "the disagreements between Israel and the US regarding Jerusalem are well-known, and I hope to overcome them and move the peace talks forward. We intend to advance the peace negotiations during Thursday's meeting with Secretary of State Clinton."
On Monday, the Jerusalem District Planning and Construction Committee approved the construction of 32 housing units in the eastern part of Pisgat Ze'ev, a neighborhood located beyond the Green Line.
The construction, which has been a bone of contention in the international community, was approved during Netanyahu's visit to the United States.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3982170,00.html
Obama slams Israel over settlements
Israel approved construction of 1,300 new housing units in the East al-Quds (Jerusalem).
US President Barack Obama has criticized Israel after Tel Aviv approved the construction of 1,300 new settler units in the occupied Palestinian territories.
"This kind of activity is never helpful when it comes to peace negotiations," Obama said during his visit to Indonesia on Tuesday.
"I'm concerned that we're not seeing each side make the extra effort to get a breakthrough that could finally create a framework for a secure Israel living side-by-side in peace with a sovereign Palestine," he added.
Settlement watchdog Peace Now announced on Monday that there were three plans for constructing more than 1,300 units in the East al-Quds (Jerusalem).
Meanwhile, EU chief diplomat Catherine Ashton warned on Tuesday that the new units "constitute an obstacle to peace and threaten to make a two-state solution impossible."
"This plan contradicts the efforts by the international community to resume direct negotiations and the decision should be reversed," her office said in a statement, adding that settlements were illegal under international laws.
The Russian foreign ministry also in a statement blasted the new Israeli decision.
"We find it essential that the Israeli party refrained from the declared construction and on the whole kept to a moratorium on settler activity," the ministry said.
Israel began approving the new settlement units after the partial 10-month freeze on the projects ended late September.
The resumption of the construction has stopped the direct talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, which began in early September after a 20-month break.
Acting Palestinian Authority Chief Mahmoud Abbas has announced that he will not return to the talks unless Tel Aviv freezes settlement activities in the occupied Palestinian territories.
Palestinians say that settlement construction is aimed at preventing the establishment of an independent Palestinian state.
Israel occupied al-Quds in the 1967 war -- a move not recognized by the international community and the United Nations.
http://www.presstv.com/detail/150266.html
After U.S. chides Netanyahu over East Jerusalem construction, more settlement plans unveiled
In addition to the 800 homes in East Jerusalem announced on Monday, Israel also releases plan to construct 1,000 homes in West Bank settlement of Ariel.
Israel published two major new settlement plans on Tuesday, threatening to undermine Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's latest trip to Washington.
More than 1,000 Jewish homes were approved for construction beyond the Green Line in East Jerusalem, along with a second plan to build 800 homes in the West Bank settlement of Ariel.
The U.S. administration had been trying to persuade Netanyahu to declare a second settlement freeze in the territories.
The State Department said it was very unhappy when it learned of the plans to build in East Jerusalem.
"We were deeply disappointed by the announcement of advance planning for new housing units in sensitive areas of East Jerusalem," said U.S. State Department Spokesman Philip J. Crowley. "It is counter-productive to our efforts to resume direct negotiations between the parties."
The plan for a new neighborhood in the western part of Ariel has been all but completed after years of litigation. Only the approval of the local planning and building committee is needed for the work to begin. The municipality supports the initiative.
The construction in Ariel has been the center of controversy between Israel and the United States. While Israel sees Ariel as part of a large settlement bloc, the United States sees it as a panhandle sticking into the West Bank, intended to prevent Palestinian territorial contiguity.
Last month Ariel Mayor Ron Nachman met with Netanyahu in Tel Aviv to discuss resuming construction in the city. "You don't know what efforts I'm making to keep Ariel," Netanyahu reportedly told him. "The whole world is against Ariel."
The area earmarked for Ariel's new neighborhood is next to the Palestinian town Salfit. The compound is divided in two - state-owned land and land privately owned by businessman Avraham Shamai. Shamai sold the land a few years ago, but the buyers did not keep up their end of the agreement and the land reverted back to Shamai after prolonged litigation.
Since this is privately owned land, the developer may put up fences and forge paths in preparation for construction with the approval of the municipal planning committee; he does not need the Defense Ministry's approval. Once the committee approves the plan, the construction may begin.
Nachman told the city council last month that "they approved a development contract. It's a very big thing."
He also spoke about building in other parts of Ariel. "We've resumed construction in the industrial area in Ariel west," Nachman said. "Plants that were frozen are being built now .... In the Moriah neighborhood we've begun construction. There are 100 homes there by [construction company] Netzarim and 195 others by another company; together that's 295."
Referring to the construction approval, Ariel council member Yaakov Emanuel told Haaretz that "the city is thriving. This means Ariel will stay part of Israel."
Over the weekend, the chairman of the Jerusalem District Planning and Building Committee, Ruth Yosef, published details of a program that will allow 930 housing units to be built in the Har Homa C area, with another 48 units in Har Homa B. An additional 320 units are planned for Ramot, also beyond the Green Line.
The plan's publication is an important step in the process of its final approval, due in a few months.
Jerusalem's municipal planning and construction committee issued building permits yesterday for 32 housing units in the Pisgat Ze'ev neighborhood in East Jerusalem.
Over the past year several diplomatic incidents have occurred when Israel published building plans in East Jerusalem around the time of meetings with senior U.S. officials. The worst row erupted in March during Vice President Joe Biden's visit to Israel over plans for 1,600 new Jewish homes in another East Jerusalem neighborhood, Ramat Shlomo.
Since then the prime minister has imposed rigorous restrictions on Jerusalem's planning committees to prevent further crises.
Officials familiar with planning issues said they were astonished by the timing of the publishing of these plans - on the eve of the prime minister's trip to Washington. Construction of the neighborhood in Har Homa at the end of the '90s, during Netanyahu's previous tenure as prime minister, led to a crisis with the U.S. administration.
Orly Noy, spokeswoman for nonprofit group Ir Amim, said on the plans' publication: "Israel is continuing to dictate, inch by inch, a dramatic reality in Jerusalem that will significantly hamper any peace solution in the future. This is especially blatant when the prime minister appears to be advancing a possible solution in his visit to the United States."
The Interior Ministry said the program's details had been published in accordance with the law and were approved long before they were published.
http://bit.ly/9Yeduv
EU urges Israel to reverse decision on settlements
BRUSSELS, Belgium (AFP) - EU chief diplomat Catherine Ashton urged Israel on Tuesday to drop plans to build new settler homes in occupied East Jerusalem, saying it clashed with efforts to revive peace talks with Palestinians.
"Catherine Ashton is extremely concerned by the announcement by Israel of a plan for the construction of 1,300 new housing units in east Jerusalem," her office said in a statement.
"This plan contradicts the efforts by the international community to resume direct negotiations and the decision should be reversed," her office said, joining US and UN criticism of the Israeli decision.
Ashton said settlements were illegal under international law, warning that they "constitute an obstacle to peace and threaten to make a two-state solution impossible."
The EU foreign policy chief "recalls that the European Union will not recognise any changes to the pre-1967 borders, including Jerusalem, other than those agreed by the parties."
She called for any final status issues to be resolved through negotiations, "including the status of Jerusalem as the future capital of two states."
"Catherine Ashton continues to call on both parties to create an environment conducive to the resumption of direct negotiations," her office said.
Israel's decision to approve the new homes in east Jerusalem on Monday sparked a furious reaction from the Palestinians, who accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of sabotaging peace talks.
But Netanyahu urged Palestinians to return to the negotiating table, warning the Jewish state will not yield to international dictates.
Direct negotiations resumed in early September but quickly ran aground when an Israeli moratorium on West Bank settlement construction expired six weeks ago, prompting the Palestinians to freeze ties until Israel reimposes the ban.
The US State Department said Secretary of State Hillary Clinton would address the issue of east Jerusalem settlements when she meets Netanyahu in New York on Thursday.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=332250
UN chief 'concerned' over J'lem building
During meeting with Prime Minister Netanyahu in New York, Ban voices his concern in light of 'plans for further settlements'. Other issues discussed include efforts to resume peace talks with Palestinians, Ghajar withdrawal plan, Iran, and UNESCO calling Rachel's Tomb a mosque.
WASHINGTON United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Monday voiced his concern over the Israeli plan to build dozens of new housing unit in the Pisgat Ze'ev neighborhood in Jerusalem and about 1,000 additional units in Har Homa. He spoke during a meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in New York.
Netanyahu and Ban discussed the efforts to resume peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians. The UN chief stressed in a statement released after the meeting that it was "vital to break the current diplomatic stalemate, resume negotiations and produce results."
He also expressed his concern over "plans for further settlements and plans to build more Jewish settlements in east Jerusalem".
Netanyahu presented the Israeli offer to withdraw from the northern village of Ghajar, located on the Israel-Lebanon border, saying that he planned to convene his cabinet upon his return to Jerusalem and approve the plan. The prime minister also addressed the failure to implement Security Council resolutions, including Resolution 1701 which was aimed at disarming the militias, including Hezbollah.
The discussion also touched on the Iranian influence on the situation in Lebanon and the Gaza Strip.
During the meeting, Netanyahu condemned United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization's decision to refer to Rachel's Tomb and the Cave of the Patriarchs as mosques.
"For close to 4,000 years, the Jewish people have had a special connection with the Cave of the Patriarchs. More than one billion people are familiar with this connection, which is documented in the book of books the Bible. Historic facts must not be distorted for political purposes. This will only harm the UN's status and the way it is seen by serious people across the world," the prime minister said.
In the statement released by the UN chief, Ban referred to the moves taken by Israel to open the crossings to the Gaza Strip, expressing his hope for "further measures to ease the movement of people and goods to and from Gaza."
The east Jerusalem building permits embarrassed Netanyahu during his visit to the United States. State Department Spokesman Philip Crowley said Monday night that Washington was "deeply disappointed by the announcement of advanced planning for new housing units in sensitive areas of east Jerusalem."
He added that the construction announcement might have been meant to "embarrass the prime minister and to undermine the process."
"We have long urged both parties to avoid actions which could undermine trust, including in Jerusalem, and will continue to work to resume direct negotiations to address this and other final-status issues," Crowley stated.
A senior government source told Ynet that the criticism was directed at the interior minister. "There is no doubt that the finger was pointed at Eli Yishai and the Interior Ministry. They are the ones responsible for issuing the permits," the source stated.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3981750,00.html 7 jan 2012, 16:09 , Respect -
Maria 10 nov 2010
US to pledge to veto Palestinian state if Israel freezes settlement for 3 month
NAZARETH, (PIC)-- A senior Israeli political official said that the US administration may use its right of veto against any unilateral decision recognizing the Palestinian state in exchange for Israeli settlement freeze in certain West Bank areas for only three months.
The official added that this pledge would be part of a package deal to be offered by the US to Israel, including other guarantees that would ensure its military superiority over other countries in the region and confront all international attempts aimed at delegitimizing the state of Israel.
Another informed sources said that Israeli premier Benjamin Netanyahu highlighted during his visit to Washington and meeting with US officials what he described as a widespread campaign to remove Israel's legitimacy in the world.
Netanyahu said in remarks reported by the Israeli media that revoking Israel's legitimacy became a worrisome problem because this means that Israel is still guilty until proven innocent.
The Hebrew radio also quoted war minister Ehud Barak as saying that the ongoing attempts to globally delegitimize Israel became a big danger threatening its future.
In another context, the Israeli government announced that its settlement activities and the seizure of Palestinian lands and homes in the east of occupied Jerusalem will never stop, affirming that this position is fully consistent with the policy of all Israeli governments that were formed over the past 40 years.
Secretary of the Israeli government Zvi Hauser stated that the last decision on the construction of 1, 300 settlement units in the Palestinian neighborhoods of east Jerusalem was taken about three weeks ago.
Hauser added that the timing of announcing this decision now as Netanyahu left for Washington was for some reason.
http://bit.ly/9VOukP
Palestinians ask for urgent UN meeting on settlement crisis
JERUSALEM (AFP) -- President Mahmoud Abbas called on Wednesday for an urgent UN Security Council meeting on Israeli settlement building that has deadlocked peace talks, his spokesman told Agence France-Presse.
Nabil Abu Rudeinah said Abbas had "instructed the Palestinian representative to the United Nations to request an urgent session of the Security Council to discuss the issue of widespread settlement in Jerusalem and the West Bank."
Earlier this week, Israel confirmed it was planning to build more than 1,300 new homes in annexed East Jerusalem, prompting a furious reaction from the Palestinians, who urged the international community to immediately recognize a Palestinian state.
Peace talks between the two sides have been teetering on the brink of collapse since the end of September when an Israeli moratorium on West Bank settlement construction ran out.
Since then, the Palestinians have refused to continue talking while Israel builds on land they want for a future state and have called for the building ban to be reimposed.
US-led efforts to prod Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu into reinstating the freeze have led nowhere.
About 500,000 Israelis live in more than 120 settlements across the West Bank, including East Jerusalem.
The Palestinians see the settlements as a major threat to the establishment of a viable state and view the freezing of settlement activity as a crucial test of Israel's intentions.
http://bit.ly/aNCBUY 7 jan 2012, 16:09 , Respect -
Maria 10 nov 2010
J'lem attorney discloses Israeli plan for full destruction of city
OCCUPIED JERUSALEM, (PIC)-- The Israeli government is planning to completely destroy the city of Jerusalem and a erect a new Jerusalem with a Zionist vision amid a plan it prepared which it calls the Jerusalem 2020 plan, Jerusalem attorney Ahmed Al-Ruwaidi said in a statement he released Wednesday.
The Jerusalem unit head said the wide-ranging plan envisions new settlements in the city and a complete transformation of Jerusalem's Old City.
The Old City walls will dwindle down to a trace on the full parameters of biblical parks, bridges, and synagogues in an area covering the Silwan, Sheikh Jarah, Wadi Al-Jawz, and Al-Sawanah districts of the city, he added.
The plan alleges that Jerusalem is the capital and spiritual center of Israel and the Jewish people and a world city which attracts the souls of millions of believers across the globe.
Ruwaidi went on to say: All of the settlement projects in Jerusalem during the past three years, some of which have been practically implemented, fall under the [plan's] framework, including a decision to erect a thousand new settlement units in Jebel Abu Ghunaim aimed at completing the isolation of the city with a wall of settlements.
Israel announced previously it will build 50,000 new units in the city. The implementation of 20,000 of those units has been initiated practically under projects that have been approved from time to time for political objectives linked to political and international action.
20,000 Palestinian housing units have been threatened with demolition.
Under the plan, Arab Jerusalem will make up 71,000 dunums of the eastern and western sides of the city's total 126,000 dunum land area.
Ruwaidi added that planning projects for new settlement units, conferences held in Jerusalem, excavation projects in the holy city's area, and revocation of Palestinian residencies that have recently appeared in the media are part of a decided Israeli program that the Israeli government and other parties have been working to materialize.
Ruwaidi met Wednesday with a legal team from the UK accompanied by political and cultural extensions from the British Consulate in Jerusalem. The delegation is currently developing a report about the situation in the city.
The Palestinian attorney presented a comprehensive report to the UK delegation relating to the city and the distress of its citizens, and the need to put the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949 and The Hague Convention of 1907 into action and to recognize Israel as an occupying force in Jerusalem that has no right to change the city's landmarks.
He called for legal, political, and economic support for Palestinians in the holy city.
http://bit.ly/bzgJzX
PA urges UNSC meeting over settlements
The Palestinian Authority (PA) has asked for an urgent UN Security Council meeting to debate the illegal expansion of Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank.
Acting PA Chief Mahmoud Abbas on Wednesday instructed the Palestinian delegate to the United Nations to request an urgent session of the Security Council to discuss the controversial issue of settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories after Tel Aviv approved the construction of 1,300 new settler units in East al-Quds (Jerusalem).
"Something must be done on the international level to halt the settlement expansion which Tel Aviv is undertaking in the West Bank, including al-Quds," said Nabil Abu Rdainah, the spokesman for Abbas.
Palestinians believe that the expansion of Jewish settlements on their occupied lands will make the establishment of a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip impossible.
The latest Israeli plan regarding settlements sparked a furious reaction from the Palestinians and drew condemnation from the international community. US President Barack Obama criticized Tel Aviv over the plan, saying Israeli settlement building was "never helpful when it comes to peace negotiations."
In response to the new Israeli plan, Chief Palestinian Authority negotiator Saeb Erekat on Tuesday called for immediate recognition of the Palestinian state [based] on the 4 June 1967 borders.
Details of the new Israeli plan to build some 1,300 new settlement units in Har Homa and Ramot neighborhoods emerged on Monday -- a day after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu flew to Washington to discuss resumption of direct talks with the PA.
The new round of direct negotiations between Israel and the PA started in Washington in September after a 20-month hiatus.
However, the talks reached a deadlock after Israel refused to meet the Palestinian side's demand for extending the partial settlement freeze in the West Bank and resumed its illegal construction work hours after the expiry of the 10-month moratorium.
Israel's cabinet secretary Zvi Hauser said on Wednesday that the construction process in al-Quds would never stop.
"There has never been a freeze on construction in Jerusalem and there never will be such a freeze," Zvi Hauser told public radio.
Moreover, the office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement that the construction policies have not changed for the past 40 years.
"Jerusalem is not a settlement -- Jerusalem is the capital of Israel," it said, adding that Israel had never stopped construction in the city since occupying it after the 1967 war.
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/150468.html
Netanyahu: U.S.-Israel understandings surmount our differences
Prime Minister says he intends to discuss with Clinton ways of resuming the peace process, based on broad understandings with the Palestinians and other Arab states.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Wednesday that Israel and the United States had mutual understandings that surpassed their differences, in an apparent attempt to defuse a recent row over Israeli plans to construct more homes in East Jerusalem and the West Bank.
Netanyahu told reporters before his meeting with former U.S. statesman Henry Kissinger in New York that he would discuss with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Thursday ways to jump start the Middle East peace process again.
"We have broad understandings with the United States on this issue and many others that surmount the disagreements over other matters," he said.
He added that his goal was to reach a peace agreement based on broad understandings with the Palestinians and other willing Arab states.
Earlier Wednesday, Clinton told reporters in a joint video conference with Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad that a peace deal in the Middle East was still possible and necessary.
She said that Israel's recently announced plan to construct 1,300 homes in East Jerusalem and 800 more in the West Bank settlement of Ariel was counterproductive to the peace process, but added that the United States was continuing to work to resume the stalled negotiations.
"This announcement was counterproductive to our efforts to resume negotiations between the parties," Clinton told reporters, but said: "We still believe that a positive outcome is both possible and necessary."
When asked what she would tell Netanyahu during their meeting the following day, Clinton responded: "I believe strongly that negotiations are the only means by which the parties will be able to conclude an agreement that will lead to a Palestinian state and Israel living in security with its neighbors. That is our view. That is our commitment."
"I remain convinced that both Prime Minister Netanyahu and President [Mahmoud] Abbas want to realize the two-state solution," Clinton added. "Like any very difficult political challenge, it is often hard to find the path forward. But we are absolutely committed to doing everything we can to assist the parties in doing so."
U.S. President Barack Obama said Tuesday, a day after the move was announced, that such plans were "never helpful". The State Department earlier said Washington was "deeply disappointed" by the plans, which were revealed at the start of Netanyahu's visit to the U.S.
http://bit.ly/aR4Ffj
Netanyahu: Differences between US, Israel 'temporary'
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said during a New York meeting with senior figures in the US press that differences of opinion between the US and Israel were temporary.
He emphasized that in his dealings with the US administration he concentrates on issues that have long-term consequences on the peace process.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3982817,00.html
Netanyahu: Settlements row 'overblown'
U.S. anger over latest East Jerusalem building plan is misplaced and Palestinian foot-dragging is still the main obstacle to peace, insists PM in interview with Fox.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday dismissed renewed furor over Israel's West Bank settlements, calling the international reaction to Israel's latest building plan "overblown".
Anger at plans announced Tuesday for over 1,000 new homes in the Har Homa settlement beyond the Green Line in East Jerusalem was misplaced, Netanyahu said in a television interview with the Fox Business Network, playing down a new diplomatic spat with the United States.
"I think it's overblown...you are talking about a handful of apartments that really don't affect the [peace] map at all contrary to impressions that might be perceived from certain news reports," Netanyahu said. "So it's a minor issue that might be turned to a major issue. I think this is wrong."
Tension over settlements was diverting attention from more important topics, Netanyahu said, claiming that despite continued building in East Jerusalem, which the Palestinians claim as their future capital, an agreement could be reached if both sides wanted it.
"You put the minor issues aside and you deal with the major issues and you try to fashion a peace deal. If there's a deal to be made there, you'll see it in a year. If there's not a deal, then we won't succeed," he said.
Netanyahu's comments followed a day of tit-for-tat sniping between Israel and the U.S. after the prime minister's office released a statement denying any link between Jewish construction in the city's traditionally Arab eastern half and the lack of progress in peace talks with the Palestinians.
"Jerusalem is not a settlement", the statement said.
The U.S., which is sponsoring peace negotiations, has repeatedly called on Israel to freeze all building beyond the Green Line, including in East Jerusalem, which Israel officially annexed in 1980 a move never recognized internationally.
"There clearly is a link [between settlements and peace talks," a U.S. spokesman said in response to Netanyahu's statement. "To suggest that this kind of announcement would not have an impact on the Palestinian side I think is incorrect."
But in Wednesday's television appearance, Netanyahu stuck rigidly to the Israel line that it was Palestinian refusal to recognize Israel as a Jewish state, rather than settlements, that had left negotiations deadlocked soon after they began in Washington two months ago.
"Peace is going to be tough... but I think it's in our common interest to get it, Netanyahu said. "It depends on their willingness to recognize Israel, to recognize the Jewish state as we recognize the Palestinian state to end the conflict."
At home in Israel, meanwhile, Cabinet Secretary Zvi Hauser sought to talk dampen media reports of dischord between Netanyahu and the U.S., telling Israel Radio that the Israeli newspapers had "exaggerated" their differences.
Netanyahu went on to rounde on the Palestinians for what he said was their lack of commitment to the talks, amid press speculation that President Mahmoud Abbas may try to bypass negotiations and persuade the United Nations to recognize an independent Palestinine.
"I hope we can get the peace talks back on track," he said."The crucial thing to me is that the only way you can conclude a successful peace negotiation is if you actually engage in it. And I am disappointed with the fact that the Palestinian authorities found ways not to negotiate, to seek a detour, to go to the UN or go elsewhere and avoiding the critical negotiation that we have to engage in."
Har Homa is just the latest in a string of embarrassments for Netanyahu over settlements in recent months.
In March, relations with the Obama administration hit a lowpont when the annoucnement of plans for 1,600 Jewish homes coincided with a visit to Israel by U.S. Vice President Joe Biden. Days later, a scheme to renovate the Shepherd hotel in Eat Jerusalem's Sheikh Jarrakh neighborhood caused the prime minister discomfort during a return trip to the U.S.
http://bit.ly/dzUNrs
Obama sees 'obstacles' in ME peace
Delivering a keynote speech in Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim nation, Obama acknowledged that "enormous obstacles" remain in the path of Middle East peace.
US President Barack Obama has acknowledged what he calls enormous obstacles in the way of reaching a deal to end the Middle East conflict.
During a speech at Indonesia's national university, the American president said there should be no illusion that peace and security will come easy in the Mideast.
However, Obama -- who is in the Indonesian capital of Jakarta on the second leg of his Asia tour -- claimed that the United States is persistent in the pursuit of "peace" despite a history of false starts and setbacks.
The US president, who has vowed uncoditional support for the Israeli regime on numerous occasions, also claimed that a just outcome to the conflict would be reached through a two-state solution -- that is Israel and Palestine living side by side in peace and security.
The remarks come only hours after Tel Aviv announced that it will not halt its plan for the illegal construction of more than 1,300 new settler units in East al-Quds (Jerusalem) and a further 800 units in the northern occupied West Bank.
Israel's decision has been condemned by the Palestinian Authority (PA), the European Union, the United States and Russia.
In a clear defiance to international criticisms, the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has also stated that it considers al-Quds as its capital.
This is while the Palestinians have also pledged that East al-Quds would be the capital of their future state.
The resumption of the illegal construction work has halted the US-sponsored direct talks between Israel and the PA, which began in early September after a 20-month break.
Israel occupied al-Quds and the West Bank in the 1967 war -- a move not recognized by the international community and the United Nations.
http://www.presstv.com/detail/150347.html
Peres: There is no alternative to peace negotiations
President Shimon Peres referred to the peace talks with the Palestinians Wednesday and said, "It is not surprising that there are obstacles on the way, but neither we nor the Palestinians have any other alternative."
In his meeting with Peres, US Senator John Kerry said that the window of opportunities for peace is getting smaller by the day and that now is the time for leadership.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3982441,00.html
Crowley Reaffirms Obama's Stance Against New Settlement Construction In Jerusalem
State Department Spokesperson, Philip J. Crowley, reaffirmed the stance of American President, Barack Obama, against the new Israeli plan to build hundreds of units for Jewish settlers in occupied East Jerusalem, and described the move as counterproductive to peace talks.
The statements of Crowley came after Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, said that the new plan does not contradict peace building efforts, and that Jerusalem is the eternal capital of Israel.
Crowley stated that the statements of Netanyahu are unhelpful, and rejected Netanyahu's office claim that settlement construction in East Jerusalem does not affect the peace process.
Crowley said that there is a clear link between the two issues and that Washington insists that all parties must create a positive atmosphere to enable the resumption of successful peace talks.
I believe that suggesting that this decision has no impact on the Palestinians is incorrect, the American official added.
But the office of Netanyahu in Jerusalem stated that Jerusalem is not a settlement, and insisted that there is no connection between the resumption of peace talks and what it described as the planning policy in Jerusalem.
During his Tuesday visit to Indonesia, U.S. President, Barack Obama, said that the Israeli plan to build 1300 new homes for Jewish settlers in East Jerusalem is a move that is unhelpful to peace talks.
Obama stated that he was not fully briefed on the issue, but added that such activities jeopardize the efforts to create a momentum for the resumption of peace talks.
He said that all parties must act to find a breakthrough in talks in order to secure a solution that enables Israel lives in peace and security next to an independent Palestinian state.
Obama vowed to continue his efforts to achieve peace, and added that the peace process serves the interests Israel, the Palestinians and the international community.
Netanyahu began a tour in the United states and held meetings with Jewish and American lobbies were he affirmed his policies, and claimed that settlement activities do not obstruct peace.
He also slammed Palestinian President, Mahmoud Abbas, for refusing to hold talks with Israel while it continues to construct and expand Jewish settlements in the occupied territories.
Netanyahu will be holding interviews with American media agencies and plans a meeting with U.S Secretary of State, Hilary Clinton.
http://www.imemc.org/article/59872 7 jan 2012, 16:09 , Respect -
Maria 11 nov 2010
Gaza ministry condemns Israeli plan to build 1,000 new units in J'lem
MAKKAH, (PIC)-- The religious affairs ministry in Gaza denounced a plan by Israel's Jerusalem municipality to build a thousand residential units in the southern section of the city, calling for a serious stop to curb the growing Israeli creeping into Palestinian land.
Palestinian Minister of Awqaf and Religious Affairs Talib Abu Sha'ar said in a statement Wednesday that the plan confirms the extent of danger of Israeli's systemic policies, and exposes the size of violations the occupational force engages in.
Sha'ar said Israel's illegal settlement schemes always follow the steps of its diplomatic relations with foreign parties.
The plan came in conjunction with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's visit to Washington to meet the U.S. Vice President.
The Jerusalem municipality's district planning committee has set sights on building 930 new residential units for Jewish settlers in Area C outside of the territories occupied in 1948 and expanding the Har Homa B the district of the city with 48 new residential units, and published another plan to build 320 units in the Ramot district.
http://bit.ly/dlaweo
(2:57) Clinton claims "deeply disappointed" at Israeli new settlement construction - CCTV 101111
(2:07) Israel gets US security assurances. 7 jan 2012, 16:09 , Respect -
Maria 12 nov 2010
Jerusalem Municipality Weighs Plans To Build 130 Units in East Jerusalem
The Jerusalem Municipality is weighing plans for the construction of 130 units in the areas located between Beit Safafa and Gilo settlement in occupied East Jerusalem, Israeli sources reported.
The idea started after a proposal was submitted for the construction of a hotel that includes 130 separate units in Gilo.
Israeli Yedioth Aharonoth that the project was initiated by a private investor. It includes the construction of three eleven-story apartment buildings.
The Jerusalem Municipality said that the owner of the land is asking to be allowed to use it for housing projects instead of being part of the hotel industry.
Jerusalem city council member , member of Meretz movement, Yosef Alalu, slammed the plan and stated that its timing is not a coincidence.
Alalu stated that Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and Jerusalem Mayor, Nir Barkat, fear holding talks with the Palestinians, and instead resort to playing small games to obstruct peace talks.
On Thursday, U.S Secretary of State, Hilary Clinton, vowed to find a way to push the peace process forwards.
On his side, Netanyahu claimed that he is serious in achieving peace with the Palestinians, and demanded more Arab countries to be involved in the peace process.
http://www.imemc.org/article/59894
Palestinians slam settlement expansion
Israeli forces keep watch as protestors hold up a sign during a weekly demonstration in Sheikh Jarrah on November 12, 2010.
Hundreds of Palestinians have taken to the streets of Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood in East al-Quds (Jerusalem) to protest the expansion of Jewish settlements.
Holding banners reading, "Free Sheikh Jarrah" and "Stop Stealing Our Land," demonstrators on Friday condemned the Israeli occupation of their lands and Tel Aviv's tough policy towards Palestinians.
The demonstration also marked the first anniversary of protests against the eviction of several Palestinian families to make way for the expansion of Jewish settlements in the neighborhood.
Last year, an Israeli Supreme Court issued a demolition order for several Palestinian homes in Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood based on what Palestinians called "fake documents" for homes that they had been living in for decades.
Last month former US president Jimmy Carter joined hundreds of protesters in the weekly anti-settlement demonstration in Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood and called Israel's takeover of Palestinian homes in the area as an obstacle to peace.
"I don't think anyone would ever claim that the demolition of someone's home or the confiscation a home in which a family has lived for many generations is fair, or just, or peaceful," said Carter.
The former US president, who has been an outspoken critic of Israel's occupation of Palestinian territories, also declared East al-Quds as the capital of the future Palestinian state.
Palestinians believe that expansion of Jewish settlements on their occupied lands will make the establishment of a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip impossible.
Israel captured East al-Quds during the Six-Day War in 1967 and later annexed it in a move not recognized by the international community. Constructing settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories is illegal under international law and violates three UN Security Council resolutions.
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/150739.html 7 jan 2012, 16:09 , Respect -
Maria 12 nov 2010
No settlement talks in Israel PM visit
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (L ) and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
An official visit by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to the US has been wrapped up with no concrete decision over extension of Tel Aviv's partial settlement freeze.
The Israeli premier left the United States late Thursday following his fruitless talks with a number of top American officials.
During a seven-hour meeting in New York on Thursday, Netanyahu and US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton did not address the settlement issue, which stopped direct talks between Tel Aviv and the Palestinian Authority (PA).
The US-sponsored talks between Israel and the PA began in early September after a 20-month break, but ended with no conclusion over the Israeli settlement issue.
The stalemate came after Tel Aviv refused to extend its partial 10-month moratorium on the settlement projects, which ended in late September.
Earlier this week, settlement watchdog Peace Now announced that Israel has three plans for constructing more than 1,300 new units in the East al-Quds (Jerusalem).
In response, US President Barack Obama criticized Israeli officials, saying "this kind of activity is never helpful when it comes to peace negotiations."
Netanyahu also met US Vice President Joe Biden and US ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice, but he did not meet with President Obama as the US leader was on his Asia tour.
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/150654.html
7 jan 2012, 16:09 , Respect -
Maria 13 nov 2010
Peace Now: Settler construction is coming back strong
New report suggests that 1,126 foundations have been laid in 45 days, compared to 1,888 for all of '09; data relies on aerial footage.
Settlers have built foundations for 1,126 new homes in the seven weeks since the moratorium on such activity expired, but have yet to reach 2009's level of building, according to data released by Peace Now on Saturday night.
Ground has been prepared for another 523 homes, but the foundations for these units have not yet been laid, the NGO added.
The organization's report, which relies in part on aerial footage, is the most comprehensive data to date on settlement construction in the aftermath of the freeze.
Governmental data on settlement construction for all of 2010 is not likely to be available until the end of February.
No full calculation was ever presented regarding the number of housing units on which work was suspended from November 26, 2009, to September 26, 2010. But based on past figures from the Central Bureau of Statistics, it was likely that work on anywhere from 1,000 to 1,600 housing units was affected.
According to the CBS, there were 2,107 housing starts in West Bank settlements in 2008 and 1,888 in 2009.
If settlers hope to reach the same level of activity in 2010, they would have to lay between 762 and 981 foundations in the next seven weeks.
Peace Now called on Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu to renew the moratorium on new construction.
The freeze had turned into a 10-month delay. If it is not followed by a second freeze, it will become irrelevant, said Hagit Ofran, who heads the Peace Now Settlement Watch Team.
The Council of Jewish Communities of Judea, Samaria and the Gaza Strip bitterly attacked the report and said it only wished that the hallucinatory figures were true.
Peace Now never misses an opportunity to sabotage Israel's diplomatic interests, council head Dani Dayan said.
With this garbled report, Peace Now is trying to incite a disagreement between the United States and Israel, Dayan said.
It represents a nasty and transparent attempt by Peace Now to force the government to adopt an extremist left-wing policy, he said.
According to Peace Now, there are new housing starts in 61 out of the 121 settlements.
It added that 34 percent of the new construction was in settlements located outside the route of the West Bank security barrier.
The bulk of new work involves small projects of less than 50 units, according to the report. The largest new project, of 216 units, is in Betar Illit, the second largest Jewish West Bank community.
Leaders of that settlement which typically contributes to a fair amount of new housing have said that they are out of construction permits and cannot build beyond this project.
Construction numbers were low, 94 units, in Modi'in Illit, which is the largest settlement and normally builds hundreds of apartments every year. Similarly, the third largest settlement, Ma'aleh Adumim, has only registered 24 new homes since the moratorium expired.
Like Betar Illit, it has also said that it is out of construction permits.
http://www.jpost.com/Israel/Article.aspx?id=195185
Freeze extension in cards?
PM Netanyahu convenes top government ministers for late-night session on American proposal: A 90-day construction moratorium in West Bank in exchange for US veto on anti-Israel initiatives in UN.
The forum of top seven government ministers convened Saturday night at the Prime Minister's Office in Jerusalem to discuss the latest American proposal for renewing direct talks between Israel and the Palestinians.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his ministers met in order to review and debate the American demand to extend the settlement construction freeze by another three months.
Discussions were expected to continue deep into the night.
The US proposal presented to the ministers is premised on a construction moratorium extension for another three months. PM Netanyahu apparently reached an understanding with Washington that the building freeze would not apply to Jerusalem, and that no further moratorium would be sought following the 90-day period.
Earlier Saturday, a close associate of PM Netanyahu hinted at the proposal, declaring that he wouldn't "bet on a full freeze" extension to be implemented.
20 advanced fighter jets
In exchange for a freeze extension, the US would object to international attempts to force a diplomatic agreement on Israel in the UN and in other global forums, while utilizing the American veto power in the UN Security Council.
According to the proposal, the US would also boost its resistance to the de-legitimization campaign against Israel and to attempts by Arab states to deprive Israel's right to self-defense.
Moreover, the US Administration would ask Congress to approve the sale of another 20 advanced fighter jets to Israel worth some $3 billion. This would supplement a comprehensive future Israeli-American security agreement, to be signed alongside a peace deal, in the aims of addressing Israel's security needs in any future treaty.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3983969,00.html
'1,126 new settler housing starts since freeze ended'
Peace Now releases report suggesting building not reached same level of Jewish W. Bank construction in 2009; data relies on aerial footage.
Settlers have built foundations for 1,126 new homes in the seven weeks since the moratorium on such activity expired, but have yet to reach the same level of Jewish West Bank building that occurred in 2009, according to new data released by Peace Now.
It added that ground-work has been done for another 523 homes, but that the foundations for these units have not yet been laid.
Their report, which relies in part on aerial footage, marks the most comprehensive data to date on settlement construction in the aftermath of the freeze.
Governmental data for on settlement construction for all of 2010 is not likely to be available until the end of February 2011.
No full calculation was ever presented regarding the amount of settler housing units, which were frozen from November 26, 2009 to September 26th, 2010. But based on past construction statistics from the Central Bureau of Statistics, it was likely that work on anywhere from 1,000 to 1,600 housing units was halted during that time.
According to the CBS there were 2,107 housing starts in West Bank settlement in 2008 and 1,888 such starts in 2009.
If settlers hope to reach the same level of activity for 2009 and 2010, they would have to continue to build another 762-981 homes in the next seven weeks.
In a report, which it released to the media, Peace Now called on Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu to renew his moratorium on new settlement construction.
"The freeze had turned into a 10-month delay. If it is not followed by a second freeze, it will become irrelevant," said Hagit Ofran who heads the Peace Now Settlement Watch Team.
The Council of Jewish Communities of Judea, Samaria and the Gaza Strip bitterly attacked the report and said it only wished that it were true.
Peace Now never misses an opportunity to harm Israel's diplomatic interests, said council head Dani Dayan.
http://www.jpost.com/Israel/Article.aspx?id=195185
'Obama didn't seek to chide Israel for e. J'lem building'
The Obama administration did not seek to confront Israel publicly on the issue of plans for new construction in east Jerusalem neighborhoods, a White House official told American Jewish leaders in a conference call, website Politico reported on Friday.
Speaking about Israeli plans to advance 1,345 housing units in Jewish neighborhoods of east Jerusalem at a press conference in Indonesia, Obama said, This kind of activity is never helpful when it comes to peace negotiations. He added that such incremental steps can end up breaking down trust between the parties.
Obama answered a question put to him at the press conference, but hadn't planned on publicly criticizing the new Israeli building, National Security Council official Dan Shapiro said on the conference call, according to Politico.
http://www.jpost.com/Headlines/Article.aspx?id=195162
Report: 3,000 new Jewish homes for Jerusalem in 2011
JERUSALEM (AFP) -- Israel plans to put up for sale 3,000 new Jewish homes in Jerusalem next year, including in Arab areas, a municipality official was quoted as saying by the weekly Israeli newspaper Kol Hair.
Shlomo Eshkol, an engineer appointed by the Jerusalem municipality, also spoke of a long-term project to build 50,000 homes in Jerusalem during the next decade, Kol Hair said in its latest edition.
Eshkol said the allocation of 3,000 new Jerusalem homes in 2011 included the areas that were illegally annexed by Israel in the 1980s, after the eastern part of the city was occupied in 1967.
The plans were announced during a meeting between Jerusalem mayor Nir Barkat and a group of 60 Israeli developers, the report said.
The homes would be available in west Jerusalem's Jewish neighborhoods of Arnona and Ramat Rachel, as well as the east Jerusalem districts of Givat Hamatos and Har Homa, the latter built on lands belonging to the Bethlehem municipality in the West Bank.
Despite international refusal to recognize East Jerusalem as part of Israeli territory, the country sees all of Jerusalem as its "eternal, undivided" capital and does not consider construction in East Jerusalem to be settlement activity.
The Palestinians want to make the east -- home to some 200,000 Jewish Israelis and 268,000 Palestinians -- the capital of their future state.
Israeli settlement construction in the occupied West Bank and in Jerusalem is the main cause blocking peace talks the pursuit of Palestinian-Israeli peace talks which tentatively resumed in September.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=333509 7 jan 2012, 16:10 , Respect -
Maria 13 nov 2010
Tafakaji: Israel exploits the peace process to step up settlement expansion
OCCUPIED JERUSALEM, (PIC)-- Specialist in maps at the Orient House Khalil Al-Tafakaji stated that Israel uses the peace process and its talks with the Palestinian Authority (PA) in order to intensify its settlement activities and impose a fait accompli in occupied Jerusalem.
In a press statement to the Palestinian information center (PIC) on Friday, Tafakaji affirmed that the number of Israeli settlers rose to 32,000 individuals and there are thousands of settlement units in east Jerusalem.
He warned that if the current situation was not changed, there would be nothing to establish a Palestinian state on, urging the PA to take a serious and decisive position through stopping its negotiations with Israel and making pressures on it to stop its settlement projects in Jerusalem and the West Bank.
The maps specialist also emphasized that Jerusalem and its people need huge amounts of money to build schools, homes and libraries, and the Arabs are demanded to provide more than they used to give before.
Jerusalem needs urgently 20,000 housing units and restoration works for about 6,000 Palestinian homes, but all this requires 200 million dollars at the present time, the specialist said.
http://bit.ly/9hWrN1
U.S.: We'll oppose delegitimization of Israel in exchange for settlement freeze
Security cabinet to meet in Jerusalem on Saturday night and be updated by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on proposed U.S. incentives package.
The United States has offered Israel a package of incentives to reinstate a freeze on West Back settlement construction.
The package of incentives includes American commitments to fight against efforts to delegitimize Israel.
The security cabinet will meet Saturday night in Jerusalem to be updated on Netanyahu's talks with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton last Thursday in New York.
According to "The Cable" blog, White House Middle East adviser Dan Shapiro told a group of American Jewish leaders on Friday that the incentives package includes commitments to oppose anti-Israel diplomatic efforts in the international arena.
The U.S. incentives package would include: curbing actions by the United Nations on the Goldstone Report; blocking anti-Israel UN resolutions concerning the Gaza flotilla raid; defeating international resolutions aimed at exposing Israel's nuclear program at the International Atomic Energy Agency; and strengthening pressure on Iran and Syria in regards to their nuclear and proliferation activities.
U.S.-sponsored direct peace talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority broke down on September 26 when a 10-month Israeli freeze on settlement construction in the West Bank expired. Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has said he will not restart negotiations with Israel while settlement construction continues.
http://bit.ly/cEicNQ
Netanyahu associate: Don't bet on full freeze
Top seven government ministers scheduled to convene Saturday night, hear about PM's meeting with Clinton.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was scheduled to convene the forum of top seven ministers Saturday night in order to present US proposals and agreements secured during his meeting with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
The US is pressing Israel to resume direct talks with the Palestinians and extend the settlement freeze, yet a Netanyahu associate said "I won't bet on a full freeze."
Following the US midterm elections, Administration officials have renewed the pressure on Israel, but for the time being Netanyahu has refused to extend the building moratorium. The PM is arguing that recent construction permits issued in the territories would not affect a future peace deal.
Over the weekend, a senior opposition official told Ynet that despite rumors about progress during talks with the Americans, "Netanyahu did not finalize any agreement with us and did not engage in any negotiations in order to ensure the coalition's stability."
A senior government official closely familiar with peace contacts told Ynet that "it's not at all certain that we'll see a breakthrough vis-à-vis the Americans %u2013 the more things progress, the more complex they become."
Elsewhere, the Peace Now movement is saying that the pace of construction in the territories since the end of the freeze is higher than previously reported. The group said it registered construction work on 1,649 housing units, with infrastructure already built for 1,126 such units.
According to Peace Now, in the past month and a half the settlers almost closed the construction gap created by the freeze, and that most construction is being undertaken in isolated, relatively small settlements.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3983908,00.html
7 jan 2012, 16:10 , Respect -
Maria 14 nov 2010
Price of 'Peace': 20 F-35 stealth jets to bribe Israel?
(6:19) Price of 'Peace': 20 F-35 stealth jets to bribe Israel?
Vice Premier: Extending the settlement freeze is a honey trap
U.S. offer for settlement freeze sparks stormy meeting of ministers from Netanyahu's Likud.
Vice Premier Moshe Ya'alon on Sunday lashed out at a new American proposal for a new three-month freeze on settlement construction on the West Bank, during a stormy meeting of ministers from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud party.
The U.S. has offered to deliver 20 F-35 fighter jets to Israel, a deal worth $3 billion, asking in return for Israel to stop construction in the West Bank for 90 days, including on building work that began after the end of the first settlement moratorium on September 26. The U.S. will not ask Israel to extend the new freeze when it expires.
The Palestinians expressed strong reservations about the proposal because the moratorium would apply only to the West Bank, not East Jerusalem, the Palestinians' hoped-for capital. Still, they did not reject it outright, saying they would consult among themselves and with Arab leaders.
Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said the Americans had not officially informed the Palestinians about the details of the proposal, "but they know we have a major problem in not including East Jerusalem."
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas will put the U.S. plan before Palestinian decision-makers and call for an immediate session of Arab League officials before announcing an official decision, Erekat said.
Netanyahu returned late last week from a five-day visit to the U.S., during which he met with Vice President Joe Biden and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. The prime minister told Clinton at a meeting in New York on Thursday that he was "serious" about talks with the Palestinians. The Americans have repeatedly called on Israel to extend the settlement freeze, which ended in September.
According to sources, no less than four Likud cabinet members expressed their vehement opposition Sunday to the new deal. The group comprises two vice premiers, Moshe Ya'alon and Silvan Shalom, along with ministers Yuli Edelstein and Gilad Erdan.
At the cabinet meeting which took place a short time later, Netanyahu told ministers that the American offer had not been completed, and would be presented to the security cabinet once finalized.
"What is at stake," argued Shalom at the start of the cabinet meeting, "is not a three-month building freeze, but in fact the beginning of negotiations over the borders of a Palestinian state."
Shalom also criticized Netanyahu, noting, "It is a strategic error to condition an American veto [in the United Nations Security Council] and diplomatic support from Washington upon the continuation of a building freeze."
"It is something that should go without saying, based on the special relationship between our countries," he added.
"If we freeze [construction] for three months, the pressure on us to decide our permanent borders will be unbearable," Shalom told Israel Radio after the meeting. "Unfortunately, if that happens, it will be a huge mistake."
Despite apparent widespread opposition to the deal, Shas chairman Eli Yishai told the cabinet that under certain circumstances, his party would not reject an extension of the settlement moratorium.
"If arrived a letter from the president of the United States stating that there could be immediate construction in Jerusalem, and that after 90 days there could be unlimited construction anywhere, we would think about abstaining," he said.
"I am sorry that this debate is about details not principles," said Edelstein. "The government has itself committed to end the freeze. The freeze was a mistake, and we must oppose its continuation. We must demand negotiations without preconditions. The strategic covenant between the United States and ourselves cannot be dependent on certain actions."
Meanwhile, the New York Times on Sunday quoted an unnamed official as saying that Netanyahu has agreed to press the cabinet to approve the 90-day settlement freeze, in a bid to end the deadlock with the Palestinians over peace talks.
http://bit.ly/bwSyPg
Friedman: US trying to bribe Netanyahu
NYT columnist says by not renewing settlement freeze PM 'makes Israel look like it wants land more than peace'.
Senior New York Times columnist Thomas L. Friedman claims the Obama Administration is "basically trying to bribe" Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to renew the settlement construction moratorium.
In an editorial published Saturday, Friedman writes, "Netanyahu toys with President Obama, makes Israel look like it wants land more than peace and risks never forging a West Bank deal thereby permanently absorbing its 2.5 million Palestinians and eventually no longer having a Jewish majority."
Referring to the Israeli premier, the influential columnist says, "Reading the headlines these days, I can't help but repeat this truism: If you jump off the top of an 80-story building, for 79 floors you can think you're flying. It's the sudden stop at the end that tells you you're not. It's striking to me how many leaders and nations are behaving today as though they think they can fly and ignoring that sudden stop at the end that's sure to come.
"Where to begin? Well, first there's Israel's prime minister, Bibi Netanyahu, who has been telling everyone how committed he is to peace with the Palestinians while refusing to halt settlement building as a prerequisite for negotiations," Friedman writes.
"At a time when Israel already has 300,000 settlers in the West Bank, Bibi says he can't possibly take another pause in building to test whether the Palestinian government of President Mahmoud Abbas a man Israelis say is the best Palestinian security partner Israel has ever had can forge a safe two-state deal for Israel."
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3984244,00.html
Likud MK: Give Triangle to the PA
MK Carmel Shama says 'the Arab population in Israel suffers from extremism'; UAL MK files complaint of incitement to attorney general.
MK Carmel Shama (Likud) spared no punches on Saturday when he took the stage in Beersheba and in a few sentences evoked the ire of Arab MKs in advocating turning the Arab Triangle [the area surrounding the Sharon-area towns of Taiba, Tira and Jaljulya] over to the Palestinian Authority.
He also recalled his recent quarrel with his party chairman, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu.
In a final-status agreement, asserted Shama, we must turn over the Triangle, as well as the Umm el- Fahm area, to the Palestinian Authority. The Arab population in Israel suffers from extremism, and people such as [leader of the northern branch of the Islamic Movement] Sheikh Raed Salah are growing stronger, added the freshman Likud MK.
As far as I'm concerned, either we are brothers, or we separate from each other. I do not support transferring people I would simply turn them, their possessions and their houses over to the Palestinian Authority.
Shama said he was afraid that Arab lawyers are taking control of the Israel Bar Association's Northern District and that because he supports a Jewish and democratic state, he believes that as many as possible Arab Israelis should become citizens of the PA as part of a final-status agreement.
In response to Shama's comments, MK Taleb a- Sanaa (UAL) submitted a complaint to Attorney-General Yehuda Weinstein on suspicion of incitement to racism and calling for population transfer.
The residents of the Triangle are here to stay, retorted Sanaa. In contrast, the fate of the racists and the fascists is to be thrown into the dustbin of history. The residents of the Triangle did not come here on a boat or on an airplane they have been here forever, and they will stay forever. Whoever doesn't like that can go back to the place he came from.
In the course of his speech, Shama referred to the recent tensions between himself and Netanyahu, who has dragged his feet in living up to his promise to appoint Shama to chair the Knesset's Economic Affairs Committee. Two weeks ago, Shama blasted the prime minister during a Likud faction meeting.
Between [US President Barack] Obama and Shama, the prime minister is busier with Obama, said Shama.
There has been no Likud faction meeting since the dust-up as Netanyahu was overseas last week, but Shama has already promised that he will not leave the issue to rest.
http://www.jpost.com/Israel/Article.aspx?id=195210
Abbas spokesman: Settlement freeze must be 'comprehensive'
RAMALLAH (AFP) -- Any new ban on settlement building must be "comprehensive," a spokesman for President Mahmoud Abbas said Sunday, indicating it must include occupied East Jerusalem.
"The Palestinians are committed to the decision of the Arab monitoring committee for a comprehensive freeze for the resumption of negotiations," Nabil Abu Rudeina told AFP, referring to a ban which would encompass settlement activity in both the West Bank and in occupied east Jerusalem.
His comments came after news emerged of a generous package of US incentives that Israel would receive if it agreed to reimpose a one-off ban on new settlement building in the West Bank.
But it would not include construction in East Jerusalem, which the Palestinians want for future state.
The Palestinians initially said they had not been informed about the US proposals, but a senior source later told AFP that David Hale, assistant to US Middle East envoy George Mitchell, was due in the West Bank city of Ramallah late on Sunday and would brief Abbas on Monday.
Last month, Arab League foreign ministers issued a statement calling "for a total cessation of settlement (activity) to allow the resumption of direct negotiations."
The Arab League's position was laid out during a summit in the Libyan city of Sirte, at which they gave Washington a month to rescue the Middle East peace talks which ran aground in late September after the expiry of a 10-month moratorium on West Bank settlement building.
They have since extended that deadline until the end of November.
Until now, the Palestinians have refused to continue talking without a fresh ban on settlement construction, a move which Israel has so far refused to consider.
The Palestinians see the settlements as a major threat to the establishment of a viable state, and they view the freezing of settlement activity as a crucial test of Israel's intentions.
http://maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=333782
Obama: Freeze renewal promising
US president commends Netanyahu for 3-month freeze plan while settlement leaders call on PM to 'come back to values of Likud', likening freeze to 1939 White Paper. Leaders say forum of Likud ministers to be established in order to oppose move.
US. President Barack Obama on Sunday welcomed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's plan to temporarily freeze West Bank settlement building, while settlement leaders convened for an emergency debate on ways in which to fight the plan.
"I think it is promising," Obama told reporters upon arriving in the United States after a trip to Asia. "I commend Netanyahu" for making such a constructive gesture, Obama said, adding, "It's not easy for him to do, but it signals he is serious."
Meanwhile, a statement released after the settlers' meeting called on the prime minister to "come back to the values of the Likud, come home to your voters and the goals for which you were elected," .
In addition, the leaders decided they would create a forum of Likud Knesset members who oppose an additional freeze, in order to debate possible steps if indeed the US-backed demand in implemented.
"This morning we learned of Netanyahu's intention to renew the construction freeze in a manner we have not see since the White Paper," said MK Danny Danon, referring to a British decree which limited the immigration of Jews to Palestine in 1939.
"The current freeze stipulates that the construction of every home in Judea and Samaria will be halted, whether the foundations have already been laid or the house is being built. This is an emergency convention of council heads in order to tell the ministers they have the power to stop this move."
The chairman of the Shomron Regional Council, Gershon Mesika, threatened to "settle accounts" with every minister who voted in favor of the freeze.
"It is morally offensive to declare ahead of time that the land is not ours and now it only remains to negotiate the terms of our withdrawal," Mesika said.
"There is also an economic problem here because instability keeps entrepreneurs and investments away. We've seen what happened in Gaza and we will not allow this nightmarish scenario to occur in central Israel."
Protestors: Shas are leftists
Mesika added that he would prefer Opposition chairwoman Tzipi Livni as prime minister. "Since he was elected our condition has worsened, even in comparison to the Olmert government. If this proposal is implemented, we will see the end of this government approaching. We would even prefer Tzipi to Netanyahu," he said.
The head of the Elkana Council, Tzadok Zehorai, said settlement was encountering "a difficult time of crisis".
"I call on all those who are loyal to the Land of Israel to raise their voices and on Minister Eli Yishai, who has proven his fidelity to settlement throughout this time, not to lend a hand to a deed which will bring disgrace on our heads," Zehorai said.
On Sunday morning Shas Chairman Eli Yishai announced that his party would not vote against an additional freeze, but rather take passive steps of its prevention, as long as construction in all areas of Jerusalem and large settlement blocs is renewed immediately.
In response, settlers' committees in Binyamin and Samaria organized a protest in front of his house in Har-Nof. Some 30 rightists attended, including Baruch Marzel, and called out slogans such as "Shas are leftists".
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3984507,00.html
PA chief to meet AL over direct talks
Acting Palestinian Authority (PA) Chief Mahmoud Abbas has called for an urgent meeting with the Arab League (AL) to discuss failed direct talks with Israel.
Top Palestinian Authority negotiator Saeb Erekat said on Sunday that Abbas would meet AL officials before announcing an official decision over the US-sponsored negotiations.
He added that US officials had not informed the Palestinians about the details of their proposal to Israel, which was finalized during a meeting between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in New York on Thursday.
This is while reports suggest Washington has plans to provide Tel Aviv with 20 more advanced fighters and has agreed to veto any anti-Israeli resolution in the United Nations Security Council.
The new US incentives have been offered in return for the extension of Israel's partial settlement freeze in the occupied West Bank for another 90 day, the reports say.
Meanwhile, the Israeli Cabinet met on Sunday morning to discuss about the new US package of incentives.
Israel has refused to extend its partial 10-month moratorium on settlement projects after it expired in late September.
Direct negotiations between the Palestinian Authority and Israel hit a stalemate due to the refusal, with Abbas insisting that any further talks would depend on an agreement on the settlement issue.
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/150932.html
Netanyahu: US proposal not final
PM Netanyahu seeking government approval
PM tells cabinet American incentives package offered in exchange for 90-day construction freeze in West Bank 'undergoing consolidation process'; four Likud ministers oppose moratorium
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who is trying to convince ministers to support an additional 90 day settlement construction freeze said on Sunday morning that the proposal he presented to the inner cabinet, which consists of the seven top government ministers, is not final.
Netanyahu mentioned that the proposal "is undergoing a consolidation process on both the US and Israeli sides. If and when the process is completed it will be brought before the proper governmental forum %u2013 the Political Security Cabinet, for approval".
As the meeting commenced Netanyahu stated that he would insist that any accepted proposal would ensure Israel's safety. The prime minister told the meeting of his meetings with senior American officials in the US last week: "I met with Vice President Joe Biden and the US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. I also spoke with some Congress and Senate leaders, senior members of the US media and senior officials in the US economy.
"The issue I raised at the forefront of all my meetings was the need to put a stop to the Iranian nuclear program. It is the greatest threat to global peace and of course, to Israel," he said.
Ahead of the meeting, four ministers from the Likud party Silvan Shalom, Gilad Erdan, Yuli Edelstein and Moshe Ya'alon expressed their opposition to the three month renewal of the settlement construction freeze.
Minister Yishai - demands letter from US president
Interior Minister Eli Yishai said that he would agree to abstain from a government vote on the renewal of the construction freeze for three months on condition that construction throughout Jerusalem would be resumed immediately.
He also stated that Shas would demand that "a letter be sent from the US president which promises future construction in Ma'ale Adumim, Beitar Illit, Ariel and Kiryat Sefer" when the freeze period comes to an end.
Edelstein: The freeze was a mistake
At the Likud party meeting that preceded the government meeting, the opposing ministers claimed that the move isn't right for Israel. Silvan Shalom said that "it isn't just about the three months; it's about a process that will eventually determine our permanent borders".
Minister Edelstein added that: "The freeze was a mistake. We must oppose its renewal and demand unconditional negotiations."
Meanwhile, Minister for Minority Affairs Avishay Braverman said that he supports the US proposal. He said that it must be accepted immediately. "I would renew the freeze not for three months but for six months. To delay negotiations over minor freezes would be the worst thing we could do. We are talking about Israel's future. The prime minister is in David Ben Gurion's shoes and he must show true leadership."
Braverman hinted at the possibility of walking out on the coalition if an additional freeze isn't approved. "I call on the prime minister to go and discuss two central issues. The Labor party will not be able to remain in the government if this issue is not approved."
The Habayit Hayehudi party which opposes the freeze renewal declared that they wouldn't leave the coalition if the freeze were resumed. Science and Technology Minister Daniel Hershkowitz said: "Essentially, we are opposed to any construction freeze. It's a moral issue, not a political one. This is about families, people, who invested huge sums of money.
"The whole idea of a construction freeze has never been an obstacle, not even now. We need to take the price and remuneration discussions of the table. My party makes every effort to fight for the land of Israel and maintain a majority against the freeze in the government. At this stage, it isn't yet time to give up. We hope influence the decision in a significant manner".
Yisrael Beiteinu also said that they oppose an additional freeze. Immigrant Absorption Minister Sofa Landver said: "If you accept a decision to end the construction freeze after ten months then you must stand behind the decision".
A second freeze
What does the American package offer in return for 'one final freeze'?
* US agrees to veto all UN Security Council and international resolutions that are critical of Israel or unilaterally advance the Palestinian statehood. As well as increasing efforts to fight against Israeli de-legitimization.
* Requesting that congress approve the supply of 20 stealth fighter jets worth $3 billion.
* Additional and wider security guarantees when an agreement is reached with the Palestinians.
Yet the agreements with the US are as of this moment, unwritten and merely a verbal agreement. It is possible that the situation which Jerusalem expressed satisfaction with, regarding the commitment to the discussion of permanent orders, will change in talks being run by Netanyahu's representative, lawyer Yitzhak Molcho. A response to the Israeli demand for military presence in the Jordanian valley remains unclear as well.
Meanwhile, the Palestinians have expressed their reservations over the proposal %u2013 because it doesn't include a construction freeze in east Jerusalem. Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat did not reject the proposal outright on Sunday, but said a decision on whether to endorse it would be made after consultations with Palestinian and Arab leaders.
Settlers were also displeased with the US proposal. Shomron Regional Council head Gershon Mesika said "it is clear that Netanyahu is a tiger on television but a frightened cat on the ground".
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3984137,00.html
Israel studies new American freeze proposal
OCCUPIED JERUSALEM, (PIC)-- The Israeli government is scheduled to discuss in its weekly session on Sunday a new American proposal freezing construction in settlements in the West Bank for 90 days, the AFP reported.
The French news agency quoted a responsible source in occupied Jerusalem as saying on Saturday night that the building freeze would not include eastern Jerusalem.
It added that the proposal offers a package of incentives for the Israeli government including American security support.
The source said that the proposed freeze would include all construction plans in addition to the building that started on 26/9 when the previous ten months freeze expired.
The source noted that the proposal also included an item that Washington would not ask the Netanyahu government for any additional freeze.
http://bit.ly/9LfNyh
Palestinians critical of US settlement proposal
Chief negotiator Erekat says Palestinians have 'major problem' with the fact that Washington not demanding construction freeze in east Jerusalem.
Palestinians are expressing strong reservations about a US proposal meant to entice Israel to reinstate limits on West Bank settlement construction and revive peace talks.
Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat did not reject the proposal outright on Sunday, but said a decision on whether to endorse it would be made after consultations with Palestinian and Arab leaders.
The proposal calls for a 90-day ban on housing starts in the West Bank, but not in war-won east Jerusalem, the Palestinians would-be capital.
Erekat says the Palestinians "have a major problem in not including east Jerusalem."
In exchange, the White House would ask Congress to supply 20 stealth fighter jets to Israel, and the US would fight international resolutions critical of Israel.
On Friday Erekat said that if Israel failed to freeze construction in West Bank settlements by the end of November, the Palestinian Authority would ask the international community to recognize an independent state.
Speaking during a visit to Morocco, Erekat said that "if the United States won't force Israel to halt settlement construction this month, our next step will be to ask the Americans to recognize a Palestinian state within the 1967 border."
He added that if the American pressure failed to bear fruit, the Palestinian Authority would turn to the United Nations Security Council and request that it recognize an independent Palestinian state.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3984065,00.html
Israeli Cabinet to consider US settlement proposal
Israel's prime minister will ask his Cabinet Sunday to consider a package of security and diplomatic incentives the U.S. has proposed to entice Israel to renew limits on settlement construction and revive moribund peace talks with the Palestinians.
The chief Palestinian negotiator expressed strong reservations about the proposal because the 90-day moratorium on new construction would only apply to the West Bank and not east Jerusalem, the Palestinians' hoped-for capital. But Saeb Erekat did not reject it outright, saying the Palestinians would consult among themselves and with Arab leaders.
Peace talks ground to a halt, just three weeks after they began at the White House, after Israel resisted U.S. and Palestinian pressure to extend a 10-month moratorium on new construction in the West Bank that expired Sept. 26. The Palestinians refused to return to the negotiating table if construction resumed on land they want for a future state and gave the U.S. until later this month to come up with a formula to salvage the talks.
The diplomatic climate soured even further last week after Israel pressed ahead with plans to build 1,300 apartments in east Jerusalem.
In a seven-hour meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the U.S. last week, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said that in exchange for a new construction moratorium, the White House would ask Congress to sell Israel 20 stealth fighter jets, an Israeli official said.
The U.S. would also commit to fight international resolutions that would be critical of Israel or unilaterally advance the Palestinian quest for statehood, he said.
The official spoke on condition of anonymity pending the presentation of the deal to the Cabinet on Sunday.
Under the proposal, the U.S. has agreed not to seek a further extension of the building moratorium after it expires. The idea is that the 90-day period would give the two sides time to work out an agreement on borders between Israel and a future Palestinian state, thereby making it clear where Israel can continue to build and where it cannot.
Netanyahu can expect stiff opposition to the U.S. proposal from some members of his hawkish Cabinet who take a hard line against territorial concessions to the Palestinians and fault him for waiting until the original moratorium was almost over to enter into peace talks.
It was unclear if any decisions would be taken at Sunday's meeting. Netanyahu, who has not publicly stated support for the proposal, presented it before an inner Cabinet of decision-makers on Saturday night.
http://bit.ly/9b1vsf
7 jan 2012, 16:10 , Respect -
Maria 15 nov 2010
Palestinians 'waiting for US guarantees'
PA sources say Washington will commit to agreement on Palestinian state's borders within three months, Ramallah to receive financial and diplomatic aid package. Direct talks with Israel likely to resume in early December.
After Israel received a list of promises from the United States in exchange for agreeing to an additional settlement construction freeze, Palestinian sources said Monday morning that their leadership in Ramallah was awaiting a guarantees and aid package from Washington as well.
The Palestinian sources told the London-based Arabic-language al-Quds al-Arabi newspaper that the commitments would be given in exchange for a Palestinian agreement to renew direct peace talks with Israel.
The sources added that the commitments were not enough and that Palestinian Authority leaders plan to consult heads of Arab countries on the matter.
According to the sources, the United States is expected to give the Palestinians a list of commitments due to Israel's failure to include east Jerusalem in the second freeze agreement. They implied, however, that Washington would promise to intervene in the negotiations in a bid to reach a peace agreement within one year. The agreement itself is expected to be implemented in stages.
The sources added that the American commitments would include setting the Palestinian state's borders within three months and solving the refugee problem, including compensation through an international fund comprised of most of the region's countries (including Israel).
The sources also said that the American list of commitment would include financial and diplomatic aid in exchange for returning to the direct negotiations. They estimated that the talks would be resumed in early December.
Meanwhile, Israel is waiting for the decision of the Political-Security Cabinet, where Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has a majority of seven to six ministers for an additional three-month building freeze.
US President Barack Obama appears to view the new building moratorium as an established fact and has already commended Netanyahu for "making such a constructive gesture. It's not easy for him to do, but it signals he is serious."
Netanyahu changed his mind and agreed to an additional three-month construction freeze after the US offered Israel 20 advanced warplanes worth about $3 billion and a promise to veto any UN attempt to impose a peace agreement on Israel.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3984796,00.html
Clinton praises Netanyahu on settlement freeze
US secretary of state says presenting plan to extend West Bank construction moratorium for three months to Israeli Cabinet 'very promising development.' Ministers: Deal finalized.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Monday praised Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for outlining to his Cabinet a US plan to extend a freeze on West Bank settlements for 90 days.
Netanyahu presented the plan, which he said was still being drafted with the Americans, to his Cabinet on Sunday, a step which US President Barack Obama told reporters appeared to be "a signal that he is serious."
The Palestinians halted peace talks after Israel's 10-month partial construction moratorium expired in September. The Obama administration has offered Israel diplomatic and defense perks to renew the freeze for 90 days, giving negotiations a chance.
"This is a very promising development and a serious effort by Prime Minister Netanyahu," Clinton said, declining comment on the details of the plan but stressing that the United States was in close contact with Israeli and Palestinian officials.
"We are going to continue to do everything we possibly can to get the parties to begin the kind of serious, end-game negotiations that are necessary" to end the conflict, she added.
Minister Benny Begin
Meanwhile, senior Cabinet members told Ynet Monday rejected the Prime Minister Office's claim that a deal on a settlement freeze has yet to be finalized. "Had it not been finalized, Netanyahu would not have presented the proposal to the inner cabinet. Clinton and Obama's words of praise prove that as far as they're concerned the deal is sealed," one minister said.
On Monday Obama commended Netanyahu "for taking a very helpful step.
"It is not an easy step not for him, but it shows he's serious, the American leader said.
Most ministers have yet to openly express any opposition to the freeze, but in an interview with Channel 2 on Monday Benny Begin (Likud) called on Netanyahu to live up to his "commitments."
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3985091,00.html
What exactly does Obama expect from Netanyahu?
U.S. wants Netanyahu to change the composition of his coalition, bring in Kadima in place of the right wing factions and replace Lieberman with Tzipi Livni.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu returned from his journey to the United States with an American dictate: Freeze settlements for three months, during which time speedy negotiations will be held to determine the future border between Israel and Palestine.
To soften the impression that this would be seen as giving in to U.S. pressure and to make it easier to gain cabinet approval for the freeze, the dictate was padded with political and security goodies, which can be summed up as such: stealth military aircraft in exchange for an end to Netanyahu's evasive tactics.
The prime minister rejected the offer when it was made before the U.S. midterm elections, but now he understands that the game is up and he has to fall in line. He has displayed similar patterns of behavior in the past when confronted with specific demands by the Obama administration.
Initially, he'd say "no" and explain that he had political difficulties, but when the Americans insisted, he'd succumb. This was the case when he accepted the "two state solution," the 10-month settlement freeze, the suspension of construction in East Jerusalem, and easing the siege on the Gaza Strip.
But now the challenge before Netanyahu is much more daunting. The F-35 fighter jets will land at the Tel Nof and Hatzerim bases in a few years, and the American proposal will make his life much more complicated.
Assuming Israel approves the proposal and the Palestinians agree to resume talks, what happens on the 91st day, after the latest settlement freeze comes to an end? Will Netanyahu submit a detailed proposal on the future borders? And what will the Americans do if the prime minister and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas do not reach an agreement in three months? Will U.S. President Barack Obama then try to impose his own map? And if the two stick to their refusal, how will the administration respond?
The second major question the deal raises pertains to Iran. At yesterday's cabinet meeting, Netanyahu said that during every one of his meetings in the United States he raised "first and foremost the need to stop the Iranian nuclear project." The fighters the United States has promised Netanyahu are not meant to protect Israel from the Palestinians, but to bolster Israeli deterrence capabilities vis-a-vis Iran. According to intelligence assessments, however, Iran will have a nuclear weapon long before the F-35s become operational in Israel.
Did Netanyahu signal to the U.S. administration that he would avoid an attack on Iran in return for advanced fighters and the defense agreement he requested? It's hard to believe the Americans offered to provide the Israel Air Force with such advanced weapons in exchange for just a three-month settlement freeze. It's more likely that they offered to strengthen Israeli deterrence capabilities in order to prevent a war in the region.
Alternatively, does Netanyahu believe that with a settlement freeze, a resumption of negotiations and the improvement that will ensue in Israel's international standing, he will be able to strike Iran and the "world" will avoid condemnations and sanctions, while it waits for signs of Israeli generosity toward the Palestinians in the West Bank?
The third question, which is more immediate, has to do with the integrity of the coalition. To date, Netanyahu was able to obtain cabinet approval for all U.S. dictates The right wing ministers in his coalition were not enthusiastic and did not go out of their way to sell the decisions to the public, but neither did they oppose the prime minister publicly. Now the situation is different. Shas announced that it will abstain and Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman declared that "we will not agree to even a single day of freeze."
If Lieberman votes in favor or abstains, and it does not matter what his excuse will be, he will be called a pushover. So it appears that for the first time, Netanyahu will face a divided vote on an important political issue.
But this is precisely what the Americans want: They want Netanyahu to change the composition of his coalition, bring in Kadima in place of the right wing factions and replace Lieberman with Tzipi Livni.
That way the world will see that he's serious about negotiations with the Palestinians. Netanyahu has opted to date to maintain his alliance with the right, fearing that Lieberman would steal voters away from him and that Livni would try to undermine him and push him out of office. But as the 91st day approaches, it may be that he has no choice.
http://bit.ly/c4AH4C
PA: Freeze must include Jerusalem
Palestinian sources say they expect a U.S. envoy to visit the region within the next few days to discuss renewing negotiations with Israel if the freeze is implemented.
The Palestinian Authority opposes a U.S. proposal to renew the moratorium on settlement construction for three months, several senior PA officials said yesterday.
Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said construction must be halted in East Jerusalem as well if the Palestinians are to accept a freeze.
A Palestinian state, he told Al-Jazeera TV, has no meaning without East Jerusalem as its capital. If Israel does not halt construction there as well as in the settlements, he said, the Palestinians will seek statehood from the United Nations.
Washington has yet to update the Palestinians about the proposal, Erekat said.
Palestinian sources said they expect a U.S. envoy to visit the region within the next few days to discuss renewing negotiations with Israel if the freeze is implemented.
They also said that despite the combative public statements on East Jerusalem, the PA will be forced to give into U.S. pressure if Israel does agree to the moratorium.
Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad told the London-based newspaper Asharq al-Awsat that U.S. commitments to Israel in exchange for the freeze, especially commitments related to security issues, are more dangerous than the actual construction in the settlements.
Nabil Sha'ath, a member of the Palestinian negotiating team, said he doesn't understand the point of a freeze that lasts only three months, since no one can say what will happen after that.
http://bit.ly/aO8YkI
Barak says US offered Israel more bribes
Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak
Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak has revealed that the US would offer more incentives to Israel, should Tel Aviv extend its partial 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 on Monday.
He also acknowledged Washington's offer of so-called incentives, which includes twenty F-35 warplanes, Israeli daily Ha'aretz reported.
"We wanted 40 planes, but due to budget cuts, we could only afford 20," Barak said.
"The Americans are now offering to complete the deal in return for a 90-day freeze."
In exchange for a three-month settlement freeze, the US agreed to give the advanced fighters to Israel and to veto any anti-Israeli resolution at the United Nations Security Council.
The ongoing Israeli settlement construction issue put an end to the US-sponsored direct talks between Tel Aviv and the Palestinian Authority.
Meanwhile, an unnamed diplomat told the Associated Press on Monday that Israel would be allowed to complete the construction of hundreds of settler units in the occupied West Bank under the new US-proposed deal.
Barak also noted that Israel must secure a deal with the Obama administration in order to keep the upper hand in the direct talks.
"Either we reach understandings with the Americans to find a way to force the Palestinians to sit around the negotiating table, or the Palestinians and the Arab world will reach understanding with the Americans and it will be us eating frogs," the Israeli minister said.
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/151139.html
Arab League may reject Israeli freeze
The Arab League will possibly refuse a new Israeli three-month partial settlement freeze that excludes East al-Quds (Jerusalem), an official from the organization says.
"If there is a settlement freeze that excludes Jerusalem, I cannot imagine that would be acceptable to the Palestinian side or the Arab side," Hesham Youssef, an official with the office of the secretary general of the Arab League, said on Monday.
According to reports, the US has offered a package of incentives to Israel to extend the partial settlement freeze for another three months after the issue stalled the direct talks between Tel Aviv and the Palestinian Authority (PA).
Washington plans to provide Tel Aviv with 20 advanced fighters and has agreed to veto any anti-Israeli resolution at the United Nations Security Council.
Acting PA Chief Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu began the negotiations in early September after a 20-month break.
Abbas on Sunday called for an urgent meeting with the Arab League to discuss the new US proposal to Israel before announcing an official decision over the US-sponsored talks.
The PA chief has repeatedly said that any further talks with the Israeli side would depend on ending the settlement construction.
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/151112.html
Likud rebels turn to Rabbi Yosef
Rabbi Yosef and Minister Yishai
Settler leaders, Likud MKs convene in Minister Yuli Edelstein's office for emergency meeting ahead of cabinet's approval of 90-day settlement construction moratorium. MK Danon sends letter to Shas spiritual leader, says 'he has the power to stop the freeze'.
Likud Knesset members convened Monday afternoon in the office of Information and Diaspora Minister Yuli Edelstein in the Knesset for an "emergency meeting" ahead of the cabinet's approval of an additional 90-day settlement construction freeze.
MK Danny Danon announced during the meeting that he had sent a letter to Shas' spiritual leader Rabi Ovadia Yosef. "We will exert every effort to prevent the freeze," he said. "The key is in Rabbi Ovadia Yosef's hands. If Shas ministers abstain in the cabinet, the decision may pass."
Minister Edelstein
At the same time, Danon added, "we are working from here to stop the Israeli government from making such a decision, which will hurt the Jewish settlement in Judea and Samaria."
The meeting was also attended by Coalition Chairman Zeev Elkin, MKs Yariv Levin and Tzipi Hotovely, and settler leaders including Yesha Council Director-General Naftali Bennett.
"We oppose the freeze and will do all we can to stop it," said MK Levin. "It's an inappropriate decision. We must say no to an additional building freeze in Judea and Samaria."
Rebels' meeting (Photo: Ohad Zwigenberg)
Minister Edelstein stressed the urgency of the matter in light of a cabinet meeting scheduled for Wednesday. "We have 48 hours to operate," he said. "Any decision made by Israel is a one-way decision and we have no way out."
MK Hotovely said, "The battle will be effective by expanding the ranks. We must not let the ideological ministers off the hook. They must be more decisive on the freeze and voice their opinion.
MK Elkin said the government's make-up may change soon. "We must understand that we are facing possible changes in the coalition. We are at a decisive point in terms of the coalition's composition. We already have replacements."
MK Levin
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu currently has ministers in favor of the three-month building freeze on his Political-Security Cabinet: Netanyahu himself, Ehud Barak, Yuval Steinitz, Yaakov Ne'eman, Dan Meridor, Gideon Sa'ar, and Binyamin Ben-Eliezer.
Six ministers plan to vote against the freeze: Avigdor Lieberman, Yitzhak Aharonovitch, Moshe Ya'alon, Silvan Shalom, Benny Begin and Uzi Landau. Shas Ministers Eli Yishai and Ariel Atias are expected to abstain. If the two Shas ministers decided to oppose the extended freeze, Netanyahu will lose the vote.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3984924,00.html
In Wake of More Settlement Construction; Barak Says Israel Should Take American Offer
Jerusalem PNN Ehud Barak, Israel's Defense Minister, announced on Monday his belief that Israel should take an American deal and force Palestinians back to direct talks.
The Obama administration on Friday offered Israel 3 billion USD of additional military assistance to Israel in exchange for a three month long construction freeze on new settlements in the West Bank. The offer was made during Israeli PM Netanyahu talks with American officials.
Barak today told the Israeli army radio that either Israel will cut a deal with the US and keep the upper hand in the negotiations by forcing the Palestinians back to the direct talks, or the Palestinians and Arabs will reach a deal with Obama, forcing the Israelis to eat Frogs.
On Sunday, right wing groups in the Israeli government announced that they will not vote in favor of any freeze. Those groups, like Yisrael Beiteinu Israel our home are the majority in Netanyahu government.
Dr. Saeb Erekat, Top Palestinian Negotiator, stated on Friday that if US fails to secure a halt of all settlement activities in the West Bank this month; the Palestinian Authority will demand Washington to recognize a Palestinian State within the 1967 borders.
Over the weekend the Israeli human rights group, Peace Now, issued a report saying that construction work has started in 63 settlements in the West Bank. The group said that settlers have constructed 1,629 new homes since the government freeze have ended in September 26.
Earlier in the year Israel announced a 10-month long settlement freeze to boost the American efforts to start peace talks with the Palestinians. The direct Palestinian Israeli talks started in Washington on September 2, but the Israeli settlement freeze ended on September 26, bringing the talks to a dead end.
According to Israeli government data, settlers have constructed 1,888 new homes in West Bank settlements including East Jerusalem. The data shows that if the 10 month freeze had not occurred, settlers would have built 1,574 homes during the period, a number they reached in the six weeks that followed the end of the freeze.
http://bit.ly/cbmruh
Egypt denies it has prior idea about US stimulus package for Israel
CAIRO, (PIC)-- Egypt's foreign ministry denied it was informed previously about the stimulus package deal offered by the American administration to Israel in exchange for a three-month settlement freeze in the West Bank.
"Egypt does not see that Israel's freeze of settlement activities in the West Bank is an end in itself that entails paying high prices for it in return," spokesman for the ministry Hosam Zaki stated in a news conference on Sunday.
"The freeze we need should stem mainly from the Israeli government's awareness of its responsibilities and obligations towards the establishment of peace and not be turned into a bargaining chip that spoils the negotiation process before it begins," spokesman Zaki added.
The spokesman stressed that the settlement activities in the occupied Palestinian territories including east Jerusalem are illegal and totally violate international law, adding that Egypt cannot accept at all such political maneuvers that are aimed at maintaining or legitimizing settlement activities.
According to this US-Israeli deal, settlement construction will be frozen for three months in the West Bank excluding east Jerusalem in exchange for American political and security pledges and incentives.
http://bit.ly/a2cm7p
Erekat: Stop all settlements and we'll talk
RAMALLAH (AFP) -- If Israel is serious about peace, it must call a complete halt to settlement building and not just limit the freeze to the West Bank, a Palestinian official said Monday.
Israel's Benjamin Netanyahu is currently weighing plans for a fresh ban on West Bank settlement building in exchange for a package of US political and security guarantees in a move which US President Barack Obama said was "a signal that he is serious."
But the proposed 90-day freeze would only halt the construction in the West Bank and not in occupied east Jerusalem, in a formula which the Palestinians say does not go far enough.
"If Netanyahu stops the settlements, we will go back to direct negotiations," chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erakat told AFP, referring to a comprehensive ban on settlement construction on all occupied Palestinian land.
Obama, he said, was very much aware that the Israeli leader held the key to salvaging the peace talks.
"President Obama knows very well that Netanyahu is responsible for stopping the negotiations," he told AFP.
"He also knows very well that Netanyahu has the key to the negotiations, and that he has closed the door to negotiations and chosen settlements not peace," he said.
David Hale, assistant to US Middle East envoy George Mitchell, was to discuss the idea with Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas in the West Bank city of Ramallah later on Monday, an official source said.
Until now, the Palestinians have refused to continue talking without a fresh ban on settlement construction, a move which Israel has so far refused to consider.
The Palestinians see the settlements as a major threat to the establishment of a viable state, and they view the freezing of settlement activity as a crucial test of Israel's intentions.
http://maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=333800