- 13 oct 2010
Palestinians: Let's talk about borders first
Authority calls for urgent talks with Israel on borders of future Palestinian state; says Netanyahu proposal for settlement freeze in exchange for recognition won't revive negotiations
The Palestinian Authority has urged the US to work towards expediting the negotiations with Israel, particularly with respect to determining the borders of a future Palestinian state, Ynet reported Wednesday.
Palestinian sources estimated that the negotiation teams will meet soon to discuss the matter in the framework of talks on a permanent agreement.
The sources told Ynet that the Jewish settlements in the West Bank are only a small component of the borders issue and said an urgent meeting would prevent another crisis.
Palestinian officials estimated that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's proposal for a new settlement construction moratorium in exchange for the recognition of Israel as a Jewish state would not revive the stalled negotiations.
The Palestinians told Ynet Israel is refusing to hold serious talks that could resolve the borders issue during the two-month construction freeze, should Israel decide to impose one.
The US State Department said Tuesday it supports Netanyahu in his demand that the Palestinians recognize Israel as a Jewish state.
"I'm not making any news here," State Department spokesman Philip Crowley told a press conference. "It is a state for the Jewish people. It is a state for other citizens of other faiths as well."
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3968788,00.html
Right blasts Netanyahu for offer to extend freeze
Rivlin says Israel should not have to make any concessions to receive fundamental recognition of Jewish state from Palestinians.
Politicians on the Right blasted Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on Tuesday for his declaration at Monday's Knesset session that he would be willing to extend the West Bank construction moratorium if the Palestinian Authority recognized Israel as a Jewish state.
Knesset Speaker Reuven Rivlin said Israel should not have to make any concessions to receive something so fundamental from the Palestinians.
I would not volunteer anything in return for this, Rivlin said in an interview with the haredi radio station Kol Hai.
Vice Premier Moshe Ya'alon expressed similar doubts about Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in an interview with Army Radio.
There is no chance in the years ahead for a peace deal with the Palestinians, Ya'alon said. The Palestinians think the occupation began in 1948, not 1967. Not just Hamas Abbas thinks so, too. We need to be free of illusions. Their lack of recognition of Israel as the home of the Jewish people and their unwillingness to establish that an accord would be the end of mutual claims teach us that they are not interested in Israel as a state beside them.
National Union chairman Ya'acov Katz said that if Netanyahu extended the freeze, Habayit Hayehudi and Likud MKs would quit the coalition in protest.
Meanwhile, Labor chairman Ehud Barak called on Kadima to join the coalition, at a socioeconomic forum organized by the Industry, Trade and Labor Ministry.
Kadima rejected the offer in a statement, saying, Just yesterday, Barak cast a large doubt on the the seriousness of the government's intentions to make peace, the same government that he held upright. Today, he wants Kadima to provide him with a kashrut certificate for his continued presence there.
In their speeches at the same event, Kadima leader Tzipi Livni and her predecessor at the helm of the party, Ehud Olmert, blamed Netanyahu and Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman for the deterioration of Israel's image internationally. Livni said Lieberman's behavior could harm Israel's chances of upgrading relations with the European Union, and that Netanyahu mishandled his relationship with US President Barack Obama.
It is important for Israel that the US and its president be strong, Livni said. Anyone who for political reasons hopes for the weakening of the president does not understand what this could do to Israel.
http://www.jpost.com/Israel/Article.aspx?id=191201
7 jan 2012, 16:06 , Respect -
Maria 14 oct 2010
Abbas vows to pressure U.S. to stop Israel settlement construction
The Palestinian president says Israel is 'still putting obstacles' in the path of peace talks, singles out West Bank settlement building.
The Palestinian president said on Thursday he expected the United States to convince Israel to halt settlement building in the West Bank so direct peace talks can resume.
President Mahmoud Abbas said Israel was "still putting obstacles" in the path of peace talks, singling out its construction of settlements on land where the Palestinians aim to found a state.
But expressing a hope that this would change, he said: "Let's focus on hope and not failure."
The Palestinians called off direct peace talks with Israel just a few weeks after they began last month when a 10-month Israeli freeze on new home building in the settlements expired.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, head of a government dominated by parties that support the settlers, has so far resisted pressure from the United States to extend the freeze. He said this week the Palestinians should recognize Israel as a Jewish state to secure such a gesture.
Abbas, speaking at a news conference with Finnish President Tarja Halonen, reiterated the Palestinians' long-standing rejection of that idea, which would amount to a major concession on an issue at the heart of the six-decade old conflict.
Abbas welcomed a decision by Arab leaders on Saturday to allow the United States one month to convince Israel to halt settlement building on land it has occupied since the 1967 Six-Day War.
"If this happens, we have no objection, on the contrary, we are ready immediately to go to direct talks, starting with the issues of borders and security," Abbas said. "This is what is expected and what we hope will happen."
The United States launched the direct talks in Washington on Sept. 2. It wants the sides to return to negotiations.
"There is a lot of activity going on," U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said in an interview with ABC's "Good Morning America" in Brussels. "I'm convinced that both President Abbas and Prime Minister Netanyahu want to be the leaders that resolve this conflict."
http://bit.ly/9FAxCa
7 jan 2012, 16:07 , Respect -
Maria 15 oct 2010
Palestinians: Netanyahu harming chance for peace by approving East Jerusalem construction
Netanyahu approves tenders for 238 homes east of Green Line; neighborhoods of Pisgat Ze'ev and Ramot included in nation-wide building plan despite controversy over construction in East Jerusalem.
Senior Palestinian Authority officials on Friday accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of attempting to foil the peace process, after the premier approved tenders for construction of nearly 240 new housing units east of the Green Line.
"The Netanyahu government is determined to thwart any chance of resuming direct negotiations," said chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat, hours after media sources reported that Israel was moving ahead for the first planned construction of this kind in months.
"This is a crushing blow to the United States' efforts to prevent the peace process from collapsing," Erekat added. "Israel is turning its back to the Arab who gave the Americans a month to find a solution."
The Housing and Construction Ministry, along with the Israel Lands Administration, released its list of 3,500 newly approved tenders set for construction across the country.
The list includes 150 residential buildings in the Jerusalem neighborhood of Ramot and another 80 in Pisgat Ze'ev. While both neighborhoods are technically set in the northern part of the city, they are considered East Jerusalem due to their location east of the Green Line.
Another 1,100 apartments will be built in the city of Netanya, 480 in Ashdod and some 450 in Tel Aviv.
This was the first time a tender has been issued for East Jerusalem since U.S. Vice President Joe Biden's visit to Israel last March, when it was announced that 1,600 housing units would be built in the area despite the settlement freeze.
Israeli officials said they discussed the construction with the U.S. administration and cut the number of planned units to temper American displeasure.
The Palestinian Authority has insisted that it will not return to peace talks unless Israel ceases construction in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
An Israeli settlement slowdown imposed last November in the West Bank did not officially include east Jerusalem, which Israel considers part of its capital. But before Friday, Israel had quietly halted building there as well.
Netanyahu offered earlier this week to renew its temporary freeze in the West Bank if the Palestinians were to recognize Israel as a Jewish state, but the Palestinian leadership was prompt to reject the proposal as insufficient.
http://bit.ly/d3Hqm4
Erekat slams settlement plans for East Jerusalem
BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- After Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu approved more settlement building in occupied East Jerusalem, the PLO's top negotiator said Israel had all but declared an end to the peace process.
"It seems to me that Netanyahu has made his choice: settlements over peace," Saeb Erekat said after the Israeli government announced its decision to approve tenders for 240 housing units in Jerusalem.
The prime minister's position "has not changed," Erekat said. "Instead, he continues to take every possible step to prevent the establishment of a sovereign Palestinian state. By tendering in the occupied Palestinian territory Netanyahu has once again demonstrated why there are no negotiations today."
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=324371
Israel invites bids for settlement units
Despite global opposition to Israel's settlement projects, Tel Aviv has invited tenders to build 240 new settlement units in the occupied Palestinian territories.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu approved building of the new units in Pisgat Zeev and Ramot late on Thursday, Israeli media reported on Friday.
The move comes as the United States has failed to pressure Israel to extend its partial freeze on settlement activities in the occupied West Bank and East al-Quds (Jerusalem).
The expiry of 10-month halt, which ended last month, has thrown the US-sponsored direct talks between the Palestinian Authority (PA) and Israel into a deadlock.
Israel resumed expansion of its occupation through settlement construction just hours after the expiry of the freeze.
Acting PA Chief Mahmoud Abbas has repeatedly called on Tel Aviv to help the continuation of the negotiations with the moratorium extension.
The latest round of the direct talks, which were re-launched on September 2 in Washington, ended without any progress.
http://www.presstv.com/detail/146766.html
Amnesty: Settlements threaten human rights
BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- Illegal Israeli settlements in East Jerusalem and the West Bank threaten Palestinian human rights, Amnesty International's regional deputy director Philip Luther said Friday.
In a statement, the human rights organization called on Israeli authorities to abandon plans to construct 238 new housing units in occupied East Jerusalem.
"Not only does the building contravene international law, it also compounds the litany of abuses of the human rights of Palestinians living in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, including their rights to adequate housing and water," Luther said.
"Discrimination on grounds of nationality and religion is the dominant feature of Israel%u2019s settlement policy," he continued, adding that AI has
"repeatedly documented the connection between settlements and the destruction of Palestinians%u2019 homes, crops, agricultural lands, and livelihoods."
AI said Israel's "land grab and dissection" of occupied Palestinian territories had a "devastating impact" on the lives of Palestinians, noting that 40 percent of the West Bank had been classified by Israel as "state" land, which was often used for settlements. In East Jerusalem, 35 percent of the occupied land was confiscated for settlements, while more than 250,000 Palestinians are designated only 13 percent of the occupied area.
"Israel's policy of settling its civilians on occupied land violates the Fourth Geneva Convention and is considered a war crime, according to the statute of the International Criminal Court," the statement said.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=324458 7 jan 2012, 16:07 , Respect -
Maria 16 oct 2010
'Israel settlement plans provocative'
OIC Secretary General Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu
The Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) has condemned at Israel's decision to construct more settlements in East al-Quds (Jerusalem).
OIC Secretary General Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu said in a Saturday statement that the renewal of the settlement activities was "a provocative move contemptuous of the will of the international community and an act of sabotage against international efforts to revive the peace process."
Ihsanoglu also said that the move "requires action by the international community to put a halt to Israel's arrogance," AFP reported.
On Thursday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu approved the construction 238 settler units in East al-Quds, Ynet reported on Friday.
Israel occupied East al-Quds, the promised capital of the future Palestinian state, alongside the other Palestinian territory of the West Bank in 1967. It later annexed the territories, defying the international community's denunciation of the act as illegal.
Tel Aviv recently resumed direct talks with the Palestinian Authority (PA), which had warned against the construction and expansion of Jewish settlements on the Palestinian lands.
A few weeks into the talks, however, Israel dealt a serious blow to the process by refusing to extend a partial freeze it had imposed on the settlement activities.
Amid continued Israeli bloodshed in the occupied Palestinian territories and the Tel Aviv-imposed blockade on the Gaza Strip, he added that the United Nations had the responsibility "to stop Israeli aggression."
http://www.presstv.com/detail/146980.html
Russia calls for Israel to cancel settlements construction in East Jerusalem
Russia urged Israel to reconsider its plans to build more Jewish settlements in East Jerusalem, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement on its website.
Direct talks between Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu resumed on September 2 in Washington, after an almost two-year hiatus. However, the talks are on the verge of breaking down over the issue of Israeli construction in the occupied West Bank.
Israel announced on October 15 it is planning to build new Jewish settlements in the area of East Jerusalem where Palestinian Arabic community constitutes a majority.
"Moscow urged Israel to reconsider its plans to build settlements," the ministry said. "We consider it is important that the sides would not allow unilateral actions, which prejudge an outcome of the settlement, would exercise restraint, excluding any violence, doing their best to continue direct talks," the ministry added.
"These Israeli Government's plans are perceived with an extreme concern and disappointment in Moscow," it continued. "They contradict international efforts aimed at the resumption of direct Israeli-Palestinian negotiations."
Russia should play a more active role in the Israeli-Palestinian peace talks, the Palestinian National Authority's spokesman representative said earlier this month.
MOSCOW
http://en.rian.ru/world/20101016/160979317.html
Russia urges Israel to reconsider Jerusalem construction
Russia has urged Israel to reconsider its plans to build 240 new housing units in Jerusalem neighborhoods located beyond the Green Line, the Russian foreign minister said in a statement on his website.
According to the Russian news agency, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov wrote, "We consider it important that the sides avoid unilateral actions which may affect the fate of settlements." France and the United States have also expressed their disappointment with the Israeli move.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3970144,00.html
Arab states: World must put an end to 'Israeli arrogance'
57-nation Organization of the Islamic Conference condemns Israel for renewing settlement construction in East Jerusalem, says it's a 'provocative step intended to sabotage peace process.'
The Organization of the Islamic Conference condemned Israel on Saturday for renewing settlement construction in East Jerusalem and urged the international community to put an end to what it called "Israeli arrogance."
According to Israel Radio, the 57-nation OIC, the world's largest pan-Islamic grouping based in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, said that Israel's approval of nearly 240 new housing units in East Jerusalem is a provocative step intended to sabotage the peace process.
The OIC's secretary general Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu said in a statement that Israel's behavior requires action by the international community to put a halt to Israel's arrogance.
Earlier Saturday, Egypt said that Israel's building permits for 238 new housing units in East Jerusalem are a sign that direct peace talks could collapse. On Friday, the Arab League said it may ask the United Nations to recognize a Palestinian state if Israel goes ahead with building settlements.
The United States on Friday also expressed 'disappointment' by Israel's approval of new settlement construction, saying "it is contrary to our efforts to resume direct negotiations between the parties."
http://bit.ly/bgSaPy
France to Israel: Reconsider Jerusalem construction
Paris joins Washington in expression of 'deep disappointment' over decision to issue bids for 240 housing units in neighborhoods located beyond Green Line, says move harms opportunity to revive peace talks.
France on Saturday joined the United States in an expression of "deep disappointment' over Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's decision to approve bids for 240 new housing units in the Jerusalem neighborhoods of Pisgat Ze'ev and Ramot, which are located beyond the Green Line.
French Foreign Ministry spokesman Bernard Valero said Paris expected Jerusalem to reconsider the move. According to the French statement, the decision harms the opportunity to revive peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians and France is "deeply disappointed" by it.
Valero stressed that the foreign ministers of both France and Spain expected Israel to halt construction in West Bank settlements and east Jerusalem. "France calls on the Israeli government to reconsider the decision," he added.
The US expressed its concern over the decision on Friday. State Department spokesman Philip Crowley told reporters in Washington, %u201CWe were disappointed by the announcement of new tenders in east Jerusalem yesterday. It is contrary to our efforts to resume direct negotiations between the parties.
However, US Representative Gary Ackerman, chairman of the Subcommittee on the Middle East and South Asia, issued a statement supporting the Israeli construction in Jerusalem. Jerusalem is the capital of Israel. It is not a settlement. As such, the resumption of construction in Jerusalem is not a justification for a crisis, a showdown, a meltdown or even a hissy fit," he said.
Earlier Friday, Jordan strongly condemned what it referred to as the "resumption of Israeli construction in the occupied Palestinian territories, including east Jerusalem."
The Petra news agency quoted Information Minister Ali Ayed as saying that Israel is harming the efforts to put the peace negotiations back on track.
The Jordanian minister called on the international community to work towards ensuring the success of negotiations and "stop all Israeli provocations," which he said are aimed at "changing facts on the ground."
Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat inveighed against Israel's approval of hundreds of new Jewish homes in east Jerusalem, accusing the government of "bearing full responsibility for the collapse of direct peace negotiations".
During a meeting with diplomats, Erekat demanded that the US and EU increase pressure on Israel and deem the state responsible for the collapse of peace talks.
The new construction "proves the Israelis have chosen the path of the settlements and not of negotiations, and this will lead to a dead end", he said.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3970117,00.html
Jordan: Israel undermining efforts in peace talks
PETRA, Jordan (Ma'an) -- Jordan on Friday strongly condemned Israel's decision to resume settlement construction, particularly in East Jerusalem, and said Israel bears responsibility for undermining efforts to resume direct peace talks.
In a statement, Jordan Minister of Media Affairs and Communications Ali Ayed warned that resuming settlement construction would lead to the collapse of negotiations and harm peacemaking efforts, the state-run Jordan News Agency wrote.
The minister's comments followed the announcement that Israel had approved over 200 housing units in two illegal settlements in East Jerusalem: Ramot and Pisgat Ze'ev.
He also called on the international community to unify efforts to ensure the success of negotiations and stop all Israeli provocations, which aim at changing facts on the ground, JNA reported.
Ayed stressed Jordan's keenness to crystallize an effective international stance that ensures the tackling of all final status issues and leads to the establishment of an independent Palestinian state on pre-1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital and in accordance with credible terms of reference, namely the Arab peace initiative.
He also stressed that achieving progress needs commitment to the Quartet's recent statement and all agreed-upon terms of reference that stress the need to establish an independent and viable Palestinian state living side by side with Israel in peace and security, JNA reported.
The minister affirmed that Jordan would continue supporting the Palestinians to restore their legitimate rights and establish an independent state on their national soil, stressing that the success of the Palestinian- Israeli negotiations is key to regional stability.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=324523
US 'disappointed' with Israeli decision
Israeli settlements
The US State Department spokesman Philip Crowley has said that the US is "disappointed" with Israel's decision to build 238 new settlement units in occupied Palestinian territories.
"We were disappointed by the announcement of new tenders in East Jerusalem yesterday. It is contrary to our efforts to resume direct negotiations between the parties," Crowley told reporters on Friday.
The Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu approved building of the new units in occupied East al-Quds (Jerusalem) on Thursday.
When asked if US envoy to the Middle East, George Mitchell, was planning to return to the region, Crowley said that they were still evaluating what to do next.
Top Palestinian negotiator, Saeb Erekat, said on Friday that the move proved Israel was intent on "killing" every opportunity to revive peace talks between the two sides.
"Netanyahu has made his choice: settlements over peace," he added.
The international community opposes the settlements in occupied Palestinian territories. The United Nations and the International Court of Justice in The Hague have declared that the settlements violate international law.
http://www.presstv.com/detail/146914.html
Egypt: New Israeli building permits a signal talks could collapse
Arab League issue statement saying if Israel goes ahead with building settlements, they might ask UN for the recognition of the Palestinian state.
Egypt has described Israel's building permits for 238 new housing units in East Jerusalem as a provocative step and a sign the direct peace talks could collapse, the foreign ministry said Saturday.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Hossam Zaki said that Egypt considers this step as a negative Israeli response to all efforts made to save the direct Israeli-Palestinian negotiations.
"The Israeli side withdraws day after another from its commitments to peace efforts, and it clearly prefers to increase the pace of colonial settlement activity in the occupied Palestinian land than to engage seriously in the negotiation," he added.
The building tenders sparked angry Palestinian and U.S. reaction, with worries that the move that could further jeopardize the uncertain resumption of the direct talks.
The Palestinians and their Arab supporters are contemplating turning to the United Nations for recognition of their right to a state within the border of before the 1967 Arab-Israeli war.
http://bit.ly/bCVn6m
IOA to build hundreds of housing units in OJ
NAZARETH, (PIC)-- The Israeli occupation authority (IOA) has endorsed plans for the construction of 240 new housing units in occupied Jerusalem, a Hebrew press report said.
Yediot Ahronot said on Friday that the Israeli housing ministry had called for tenders to build 240 houses in Pisgat Ze'ev and Ramot in occupied Jerusalem.
It claimed that Israeli premier Benjamin Netanyahu had informed the American administration about the step, and that a tacit understanding was reached between the two parties over the issue.
Israeli ministers said that the step was aimed at probing the world's reaction to the resumption of construction in the occupied West Bank and Jerusalem.
However, US state department spokesman Philip Crowley told reporters in Washington, %u201CWe were disappointed by the announcement of new tenders in east Jerusalem yesterday. It is contrary to our efforts to resume direct negotiations between the parties.
Meanwhile, Israeli far-right groups in Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood in occupied Jerusalem announced that they intend to house ten Jewish families in buildings owned by Palestinian citizens, claiming that they were owned by Jews before 1948, in that suburb.
In the West Bank, Israeli settlers started to expand their settlement of Shakid on land of the Palestinian village of Yabad, Jenin district, on Friday.
Eyewitnesses reported that bulldozers were leveling the land in a bid to expand the settlement, which is north of Yabad and behind the racist, separation wall.
http://bit.ly/997bYN
Israel begins expanding settlement in Jenin
JENIN (Ma'an) -- Israel began large-scale digging works on Saturday in preparation for the expansion of an illegal settlement in the northern West Bank district of Jenin.
Residents of the Ya'bad village, on which the Shaqed settlement is built, said bulldozers entered on Saturday and began razing village land to make way for several new housing units.
The expansion follows the expiration of a partial settlement moratorium in the West Bank last month, which the US and EU urged Israel to prolong in a bid to save flailing peace talks from collapse over settlement activity.
The Ya'bad village is surrounded by several Israeli settlements including Shaqed, Rehan, Hinnanit, Mevo Dotan and Hermesh.
On Friday, the US said it was disappointed by Israel's announcement that several new homes in two illegal East Jerusalem settlements had been approved, describing the move as "contrary" to efforts to resume direct negotiations.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=324513 7 jan 2012, 16:07 , Respect -
Maria 17 oct 2010
IOA renews building in Revava settlement
SALFIT, (PIC)-- The Israeli occupation authority (IOA) resumed construction in Revava settlement established on land of the Hares and Deir Estiyya villages north of Salfit district on Sunday.
Eyewitnesses said that bulldozers were digging land in the southern sector of the settlement in preparation for establishing new housing units.
Construction returned in full swing in Revava at the end of the alleged freeze on building in settlements similar to other settlements in the occupied West Bank and Jerusalem.
http://bit.ly/aaotvf
Islamic conference slams Israel's settlement activities in east J'lem
JEDDAH, (PIC)-- The organization of the Islamic conference on Saturday strongly denounced Israel's resumed settlement activities in east Jerusalem, saying this would undermine the peace efforts between Fatah's authority and the Israeli occupation state.
"This step is provocative and a disregard for the will of the international community, and that would undercut international efforts made for the resumption of the peace process," secretary-general of the organization Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu said in a statement.
He stressed that the UN bears particular responsibility for putting an end to Israel's violations and curb its crimes.
He called for moving at all levels to force Israel to halt its settlement activities and abide by the international law.
For his part, Palestinian minister of religious affairs Taleb Abu Sha'er called on all Arab and Muslim officials and the international community to implement the conventions, laws and norms they made, which provided for the protection of peoples' rights and constants.
In a press release on Saturday, Abu Sha'er refuted Israel's claims which say that the Palestinians living in the western part of Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood in occupied Jerusalem are occupying homes belonging to Jews who resided in this area in the 19th century.
The minister noted that the ownership of some homes was seized by settlement societies funded by extremist billionaire Meskovich in order to replace the Palestinian families with Jewish ones to expand the settlement outposts in Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood.
In a separate incident, Israeli political sources revealed that the Israeli government intends to build 360 settlement units in east Jerusalem, but it deferred the construction activities for some time because of American pressures.
The sources noted that the tenders put out by the Israeli ministry of housing for the construction of 240 settlement units in the Jerusalem neighborhoods of Ramot and Pisgat Ze'ev are intended to test the international community's reactions towards Israel's resumption of its settlement activities following the alleged freeze.
http://bit.ly/crqrQM
7 jan 2012, 16:07 , Respect -
Maria 18 oct 2010
PA condemns proposals to expand Jerusalem settlements
RAMALLAH (Ma'an) -- The Palestinian Authority, in its weekly meeting chaired by Salam Fayyad, strongly condemned the Israeli government's decision to build 240 units in the settlements of Ramot and Pisgat Ze'ev in East Jerusalem.
The Cabinet considered that these steps indicate clearly Israel's disregard for efforts to activate the peace process, and its disregard for all international mediation, including the US efforts aimed at ending the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, and establishing a Palestinian state.
The Cabinet condemned ongoing Israeli attacks on our people in Silwan and the settlers%u2019 continued "terrorism against our citizens under the protection of the Israeli occupation, in order to deport Palestinians and take over the district," for example by demolishing 88 houses in Al-Bustan neighborhood.
The Cabinet condemned schemes for the displacement of 10 Palestinian families in Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood in Jerusalem. The Cabinet pointed out that these crimes constitute a clear violation of international law, including Geneva Convention and relevant stipulations of the international legality.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=325297
UN official: Settlements violate international law
Riyad Mansour
Senior UN official uses Security Council session to bash Israel over settlement construction. Palestinian observer urges sanctions against Israel; Jerusalem's new UN ambassador says talks not stalled because of settlements.
WASHINGTON The end of the West Bank settlement construction moratorium was the center of Monday's UN Security Council session, as Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs Oscar Taranco claimed such construction was in violation of International Law.
According to Taranco, Israel's refusal to extend the settlement freeze is to blame for the recent wave of riots in the east Jerusalem neighborhood of Silwan. He also claimed that settlers routinely attack Palestinians and admonished the Israeli government for failing to ensure law and order.
Riyad Mansour, who serves as the Observer of Palestine to the United Nations, accused Israel of confiscating Palestinian land, colonization, and ignoring the will of the international community by ending the construction moratorium. The freeze must persist throughout the duration of the peace talks, he said.
Mansour further called on the international community to sanction Israel in order to make it meet what he referred to as the same standards all nations are held to.
Jerusalem, he added, Must choose whether to pursue peace with its neighbors or be an "occupier and a violator of human rights."
The Palestinian observer urged the Security Council to impose its decisions on Israel, hinting that the Palestinian Authority might appeal for the UN's recognition in a Palestinian state should peace talks fail.
'Difficult decisions in pursuit of peace'
Monday also saw newly appointed Israeli Ambassador to the UN Meiron Reuven speak before the UN Security Council for the first time.
"I appear before you today and state the profound and enduring wish of my nation to establish peace with the Palestinians. A peace based on security and mutual recognition. A peace that will ensure prosperity for our two peoples," he said.
"Israel has continued to show that it is willing to take bold measures and make difficult decisions in pursuit of peace Israel has continued to show that it is willing to take bold measures and make difficult decisions in pursuit of peace.
"With a heavy heart, Israel put in place a self-imposed and unprecedented ten-month moratorium on settlement construction History has shown that (settlements) do not stand in the way of making peace as seen by peace agreements that were achieved with Egypt and Jordan. Furthermore, when Israel dismantled all of its settlements in the Gaza Strip, it received terrorism and rocket fire on towns and communities in return," he continued.
"A request that Israel recognize a Palestinian state as the nation-state of the Palestinian people must be met with an acknowledgement that Israel is the nation-state of the Jewish people. After generations of conflict, mutual recognition will be essential in overcoming a long history of incitement, combating terrorism, and establishing peaceful coexistence between our two peoples."
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3971299,00.html
PM: New building permits won't affect peace process
Abbas says Netanyahu should take advantage of offer to continue talks with silent settlement construction freeze.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas's preoccupation with the settlement building was "superficial" and that the additional permits will not affect the the peace process.
"The discussions about the new building permits are superficial, as only a small percentage have been added. The addition is trivial and does not affect the situation in the settlements, or a possible peace treaty with the Palestinians," Netanyahu said during a Likud members' meeting in Tel Aviv.
"I prefer to have a face to face conversation with him [Abbas]," Netanyahu said, referring specifically to an interview aired on Channel 1 news on Sunday in which Abbas said that he had already transferred four messages to Netanyahu via officials in which he said that he was willing to settle for a silent settlement freeze in order to continue talks.
"If the Palestinians want to find problems then we won't proceed. If they want to solve the problems, I think that there are other ways to get over the gaps and move forward," Netanyahu told the Likud members, adding that "one of the focal topics is security: I don't know if you know this but we struggle to fly near Gaza because they have anti aircraft missiles. Imagine that they had missiles which could ht planes at Ben Gurion. The solutions have to be immediate and long lasting and provide our country with security."
http://bit.ly/c6Hmdd
7 jan 2012, 16:08 , Respect -
Maria 19 oct 2010
UN: Israeli settlements defy intl. law
Assistant UN Secretary General for Political Affairs Oscar Fernandez-Taranco
A senior UN official has criticized Israel for defying international calls to halt its settlement construction activity in the occupied West Bank.
Oscar Fernandez-Taranco, assistant UN secretary general for political affairs, criticized Israel on Monday for jeopardizing international efforts to resolve the impasse in Tel Aviv's talks with the Palestinian Authority (PA).
"We have a brief and crucial window to overcome the current impasse," Taranco told the UN Security Council on Monday.
"The UN secretary general continues to believe that if the door to peace closes, it will be very hard to reopen," he added.
The remarks follow a decision by the Israeli regime to allow construction of more than 230 new housing units in the illegally annexed East al-Quds (Jerusalem).
Taranco criticized the approval, saying the move amounted to the violation of international law.
But, the Israeli ambassador to the United Nations insisted that settlements do not stand in the way of what he described as "making peace."
Israel's latest settlement project in East al-Quds also drew criticism from the United States and France, which expressed disappointment with the plans and called on Israel to reconsider the decision.
Egypt also criticized Israel's move and warned it could jeopardize the US-sponsored direct talks between the Tel Aviv regime and the PA.
The Arab League on Friday floated the possibility of requesting the UN to recognize a Palestinian state if Israel pushes ahead with its settlement expansions in the occupied Palestinian territories.
The Organization of the Islamic Conference also condemned Israel's settlement construction in East al-Quds and called on the international community to put an end to the "Israeli arrogance."
Direct talks between the PA and Israel hit an impasse over Tel Aviv's refusal to extend a partial settlement freeze -- which, in effect, partly allowed the resumption of constructions in the occupied territories -- after its September 26 expiry.
http://www.presstv.com/detail/147281.html 7 jan 2012, 16:08 , Respect -
Maria 21 oct 2010
DN! Israeli Settlers Build Over 600 New Homes
(0:44) DN! Israeli Settlers Build Over 600 New Homes
Israeli Settlers Build Over 600 New Homes
New figures show Israel has rapidly expanded settlement construction in the occupied West Bank since lifting a partial freeze last month. According to the Israeli group Peace Now, ground has been broken on over 600 new homes four times the pace of the previous two years. Speaking in Washington, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said the US remains opposed to settlement expansion. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton: "It's no secret that we are in a difficult period. When President Abbas and Prime Minister Netanyahu came to Washington last month to relaunch direct negotiations, we knew there would be setbacks and struggles. Our position on settlements is well known and has not changed."
Yesha Council calls Peace Now report 'provocation'
Yesha Council Responds to Peace Now Report Describing it as An Unnecessary Provocation.
The Yesha Council of Jewish Communities in the West Bank on Thursday responded to a Peace Now report issued earlier in the day detailing the scope of construction in the wake of the building freeze saying, there is nothing to hide in terms of the scope of our building and we aren't counting the number of Jews who are working to build in our land.
Yesha Council Director General Naftali Bennett questioned the tone of the Peace Now report which he described as an unnecessary provocation, saying, Why should there be any place in Israel where we are barred from building?
http://www.jpost.com/Headlines/Article.aspx?id=192325
UN Mideast envoy slams Israel's renewed W.Bank building
Robert Serry responds to AP claiming 544 new apartments built since end of freeze, calls settlement construction "illegal under international law," says "will only further undermine trust."
JERUSALEM The UN's Mideast envoy Robert Serry on Thursday criticized Israel's renewed building in West Bank settlements in response to an Associated Press investigation.
The AP report showed that Israel has begun building at least 544 apartments since a 10-month building moratorium in the settlements expired late last month.
In a statement, Serry called the AP report "alarming." He said settlement construction is "illegal under international law" and "will only further undermine trust."
The AP survey, while not comprehensive, marks the most extensive effort yet to quantify the construction. It was based on visits to 16 of the West Bank's more than 120 settlements as well as phone calls to more than four dozen settlements and interviews with construction workers and mayors.
"This figure is alarming and is another indicator that Israel is not serious about the peace process, which is supposed to be about ending the occupation," said Ghassan Khatib, spokesman for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' self-rule government in the West Bank.
http://www.jpost.com/Israel/Article.aspx?id=192345 7 jan 2012, 16:08 , Respect -
Maria 22 oct 2010
UN envoy: New Israeli units alarming
Israeli settlements
A top UN official has warned that the new illegal Israeli settlement units in the occupied Palestinian territories would "undermine trust" between the two sides.
Israeli settlement construction is "illegal under international law" and "will only further undermine trust," the UN's Middle East envoy Robert Serry said in a statement on Thursday.
A report by the Associated Press showed that Israel has begun building at least 544 units since a partial 10-month freeze expired late September.
Calling the new report "alarming," Serry stressed that the settlement construction runs counter to the international community's repeated appeals to the parties to create conditions conducive to negotiations.
The direct talks between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and acting Palestinian Authority Chief Mahmoud Abbas ended without any progress last month.
The stalemate came after Tel Aviv refused to extend its partial moratorium on the settlement projects.
The Palestinian Authority says that the settlement construction is aimed at preventing the establishment of a Palestinian state.
http://www.presstv.com/detail/147717.html
Falk: Settlements 'almost insurmountable' obstacle to statehood
PARIS (Ma'an) -- Israel's settlement construction in the occupied territories has become an almost insurmountable obstacle to creating an independent Palestinian state, a UN envoy was quoted as saying Friday.
A Palestinian state "seems increasingly problematic as a solution because it would require a substantial reversal of the settlement process," said Richard Falk, a UN representative on human rights in the Palestinian territories
He told a news conference at the UN headquarters that the settlers would probably put up strong opposition to any such move, Agence France-Presse reported.
Falk added that "the extension of the Jewish presence in East Jerusalem by way of unlawful settlements, house demolitions, revocations of Palestinian residence rights, makes it increasingly difficult to envisage a Palestinian capital in East Jerusalem."
"You have to disconnect between an inter-governmental peace process and an illusion that at the end of this process is an independent sovereign Palestinian state," the envoy, a professor of international law at Princeton University in the United States, told reporters.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=326581 7 jan 2012, 16:08 , Respect -
Maria 24 oct 2010
Jerusalem gets first grade national priority status
New legislation gives capital benefits in housing, employment and education sectors. Minister: Clear message that Jerusalem won't be divided.
The Ministerial Committee on Legislative Affairs has approved a bill on Sunday, defining Jerusalem as a national priority area of the first order in the housing, employment and education sectors. The bill, initiated by Knesset Member Uri Ariel (National Union), is expected to be brought before the Knesset for a preliminary vote.
The bill means that construction priority will be given to Jerusalem's many neighborhoods - including in east Jerusalem, a measure which could lead to friction between Israel and the US and Europe. While the exact repercussions of the bill on the capital's residents are unclear, they will enjoy various benefits through the bill.
The bill received the support of Communications Minister Moshe Kahlon, Environmental Protection Minister Gilad Erdan, Minister of Information and DiasporaYuli Edelstein, Minister Meshulam Nahari, Tourism Minister Stas Misezhnikov, Minister of Religious Services Yakov Margi, Internal Security Minister Yitzhak Aharonovitch and Immigrant Absorption Minister Sofa Landver. The bill is part of the government's policy.
Agriculture Minister Shalom Simhon and Social Affairs Minister Isaac Herzog from Labor, together with their Likud colleagues, Minister Benny Begin and Education Minister Gideon Sa'ar %u2013 all supporters of the bill, requested, on behalf of the justice and finance ministries, to postpone the vote by three weeks so that additional elements (mainly in welfare) could be included in the bill, but their request was denied.
The bill's commentary addressed the fact that in section four of the Basic Law on Jerusalem as Israel's capital, it is stated that the government will persevere in developing and promoting the prosperity of Jerusalem and its residents by allocating special resources and giving a special priority to State authority development operations within the city. According to Knesset members, the purpose of the bill is to follow through on the goals detailed within the Basic Law.
MK Ariel: Jerusalem in the major league
Giving a city the status of national priority area of the first order means that the city can offer benefits and grants in education, culture, employment, welfare, construction, industry, agriculture, tourism, interior, environmental protection, immigration absorption and infrastructure.
It was also decided that in order to prevent young residents from leaving the city, some apartments will qualify as affordable housing for various sectors and some youngsters will be exempted from paying property tax.
Over 45 Knesset members from various parties stand behind the bill. Among those participating in the legislature initiative are Coalition Chairman MK Zeev Elkin (Likud), MK Nachman Shai (Kadima), MK Uri Maklev (United Torah Judaism), MK Avraham Michaeli (Shas) and MK Robert Ilatov (Yisrael Beiteinu).
The new bill will give Jerusalem the same financial and national priority given to periphery cities. The legislators' intent is, among other things, to prioritize public area construction in Jerusalem. And even though the bill amendments don't mention construction beyond the Green Line, it is expected that construction priority will also be given to Jewish neighborhoods east of the Green Line.
In addition, they will receive government prioritization in the education and employment sectors, which will lead, say the bill's creators, to a change in the area's demographic makeup %u2013 an increase in the number of Jews in the area.
Minister Kahlon said that by passing the legislation the Israeli government is sending a "clear, unequivocal political message that Jerusalem will not be divided."
"All those within the Palestinian or international community who expect the current Israeli government to accept any demands regarding Israel's sovereignty over its capital are mistaken and misleading," he said.
MK Uri Ariel (National Union) noted that he expects the prioritization to "push Jerusalem into the major league.
"It (the bill) will lead to a change in the demographic balance. I hope that if the bill will eventually receive government support in the Knesset, it will be a driving force for Israel's capital," added the MK.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3974215,00.html
Zionist settlers raze, annex Palestinian land
AL-KHALIL, (PIC)-- Zionist settlers of the Karmi Tzur settlement established on Palestinian land near Beit Ummar village, north of Al-Khalil district, cut down almonds trees in Wadi Al-Wahadin area near the village on Saturday, eyewitnesses reported.
They said that the settlers bulldozed five dunums of Palestinian cultivated land south of the village.
The witnesses charged that the step fell in line with a plan to expand the settlement and build tens of housing units in the area.
Settlers on semi daily basis attack the village's land and destroy trees causing severe economic losses to their owners.
http://bit.ly/c4FuWt 7 jan 2012, 16:08 , Respect -
Maria 25 oct 2010
Bahar champions national plan to defend Jerusalem
GAZA, (PIC)-- Dr. Ahmed Bahar, the first deputy speaker of the Palestinian legislative council, has condemned the Israeli occupation authority's (IOA) decision defining Jerusalem as a national priority area of the first order.
He warned in a press release on Monday that such a step signals a serious leap in judaization and settlement activity in the holy city.
He said that the Israeli decision targets emptying the city of its indigenous inhabitants and finalizing its judaization in the upcoming stage.
The racist decision grants Israelis housing privileges and exemption of taxes, which would lead to a demographic change in favor of the Israeli settlers, Bahar underlined.
The deputy speaker expressed surprise at the negative stance of the PA in Ramallah towards such a new development, urging Mahmoud Abbas, the de facto Palestinian president, to adopt a real and strategic decision halting negotiations and security coordination with the IOA.
http://bit.ly/ctOJFh
Abu Sha'ar slams Israel's decision to prioritize Judaization of O. Jerusalem
GAZA, (PIC)-- Palestinian minister of religious affairs Taleb Abu Sha'ar strongly denounced the Israeli government for approving a law considering the Judaization of occupied Jerusalem a national priority for Israel.
In a press release on Monday, Abu Sha'ar said that this law is part of Israel's games, where it is under the table carrying out its settlement activities and on the table deceiving the world by declaring its alleged intentions to develop the holy city, but in fact it intends to change the Islamic features of the city.
The minister also warned that this law would lead to the establishment of new housing projects for the Jews in the context of the tactical war which Israel is waging in Jerusalem in order to displace the Palestinian natives from their holy city.
The minister called on the Arab and Muslim nations, and the international community to wake up from their long hibernation that almost killed the holy city and to hasten to save it from the clutches of the Israeli occupation state.
http://bit.ly/cVn9Td
Israeli cabinet endorses law making judaizing Jerusalem a national priority
OCCUPIED JERUSALEM, (PIC)-- The Israeli ministerial committee on legislative affairs has approved a bill on Sunday, defining Jerusalem as a national priority area of the first order in the housing, employment and education sectors, which practically means giving a boost to Judaization efforts.
Hebrew media reported that the new bill would enhance the establishment of new housing projects including eastern Jerusalem and would urge youth to remain in the city after exempting them of property taxes.
Yediot Ahronot reported that the bill was backed by a majority of ministers in Netanyahu's government, describing it as a part of the government's policy.
"The new bill will give Jerusalem the same financial and national priority given to periphery cities [border cities]. The legislators' intent is, among other things, to prioritize public area construction in Jerusalem. And even though the bill amendments don't mention construction beyond the Green Line, it is expected that construction priority will also be given to Jewish neighborhoods east of the Green Line.
In addition, they will receive government prioritization in the education and employment sectors, which will lead, say the bill's creators, to a change in the area's demographic makeup %u2013 an increase in the number of Jews in the area."
Communications minister Moshe Kahlon said that by passing the legislation the Israeli government is sending a "clear, unequivocal political message that Jerusalem will not be divided."
"All those within the Palestinian or international community who expect the current Israeli government to accept any demands regarding Israel's sovereignty over its "capital" are mistaken and misleading," he said.
http://bit.ly/bY3WB0 7 jan 2012, 16:08 , Respect -
Maria 26 oct 2010
Netanyahu Considering Three Months Freeze On Settlements
Israeli paper, Maariv, reported Tuesday that Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, intends to weigh the possibility of offering a three-month freeze on settlement activities in order to give peace talks a chance to advance.
The paper said that Netanyahu is preparing a plan in this regard, and intends to submit it to the American President, Barack Obama, next month.
According to the plan, Israel will not conduct any constructions in West Bank settlements, and that after the three months, Israel will resume what was described as limited constructions meant for natural growth purposes, for additional nine months.
Sources close to Netanyahu stated that he intends to make tough decisions after he passes the state budget to the Knesset for approval in the few coming weeks.
Meanwhile, the office of Netanyahu denied any new decisions regarding a new settlement freeze, and stated that talks are ongoing with the Obama administration in an attempt to resume the peace process with the Palestinians.
The Palestinian Authority in the West Bank is demanding Israel to halt all of its settlement activities in the occupied territories, including in occupied East Jerusalem, before peace talks are resumed.
The P.A is also demanding Israel to stop its invasions and arrest campaigns in the occupied territories.
http://www.imemc.org/article/59751 7 jan 2012, 16:08 , Respect -
Maria 28 oct 2010
Abu Sha'ar Condemned Building 750 Housing Units Approval
Minister of Religious Affairs and Chairman of Jerusalem Committee, Taleb Abu Sha'ar, condemned, on Wednesday, the approval of the building of 750 housing units by the Local Committee of Construction and Organization in the Israeli municipality in the settlement of Bezgat Ze'ef in occupied Jerusalem. They are planned to be built gradually in order not to obstruct the peace process between Israeli and Palestinians sides.
He considered this approval as a new step in continuing settlement construction in Jerusalem and the West Bank and "Judaizing" the city. He pointed out that new settlements construction comes in an Israeli and American coordination to control the lands of Jerusalem to serve the goals of the Israelis.
He demanded serious international positions to support Jerusalem as well as the ones that support the Israeli practices against the Palestinians and their lands.
http://www.imemc.org/article/59775
Rivlin: Settlement Construction Is Just "Palestinian Excuse" To End Negotiations
Paris PNN Knesset Speaker Reuven Riviln met with French Senate president, Gerard Larcher, in Paris on Thursday. They discussed the peace negotiations between Israel and Palestine, as well as Europe's involvement in the peace talks.
Rivlin told his French counterpart that the settlements are merely an excuse for the Palestinians upon entering peace negotiations and he added that the Palestinians rely too much on Europe and that they were doing the Palestinians work for them.
Hundred of thousands of Israeli people live in the settlements and they are not an obstacle to peace. You can't ignore the fact that Bush's letter recognizes many of them. It's just an excuse for the Palestinians at the negotiating table, Rivlin added.
He went on to add, The feeling is that Abbas is getting into the talks out of a sense of obligation and cannot convince his people to make compromises. Peace requires mutual interest.
Meanwhile Palestinian Authority Prime Minister, Salam Fayyad, said to a Italian news agency, The deadline is next summer, when the Israeli occupation of the West Bank must end. In 2011, we will celebrate 66 years of the United Nations and the United Nations will celebrate the birth of our nation.
Fayyad added that the Palestinians need to build national institutions in the West Bank and prepare for an independent Palestinian state.
In reference to the settlements Fayyad said, look at those houses up there in Shiloh, they are illegal not because I say so, but in international law. Israel considers UN resolutions as mere recommendations.
There is currently over 500,000 Israeli's living in the illegal settlements within the West Bank and East Jerusalem. This is a major part of the negotiation break down. The direct peace talks began on September 2nd with the backing of the United States, but has since fallen apart due to Israel refusing to extend the settlement construction freeze that ended on September 26th.
http://bit.ly/dtlC39 7 jan 2012, 16:08 , Respect -
Maria 29 oct 2010
Israel still defiant over settlement
Israel remains defiant in the face of international calls to end its settlement activities.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu remains defiant over the settlement activities although the issue broke down the direct talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority (PA).
Netanyahu said on Thursday that he felt the settlement issue was not an obstacle to the negotiations, Ha'aretz reported.
The two sides began the US-sponsored talks last month, but failed to reach any agreements after Tel Aviv refused to extend a partial moratorium on settlement construction in the occupied Palestinian territories.
The Israeli premier also pointed out that the settlement issue was "not substantial."
According to the PA, the settlement construction is aimed at preventing the establishment of a Palestinian state.
A report by the Associated Press said that Israel has begun building at least 544 settlement units since the 10-month freeze expired at the end of September.
Last week, UN's Middle East envoy, Robert Serry, said in a statement that Israeli settlement construction is "illegal under international law" and "will only further undermine trust."
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/148748.html 7 jan 2012, 16:08 , Respect -
Maria 30 oct 2010
Israel expands Nablus settlement
NABLUS (Ma'an) -- Settlers installed 12 caravans on Saturday beside an illegal settlement in the West Bank district of Nablus, witnesses said.
Locals said on Tuesday that Israeli forces in armored vehicles bulldozed land next to Shvut Rachel settlement to prepare for the installation of the caravans.
At the time, a representative of the settlement denied any major expansion was in order.
"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, in an email.
The construction is on either side of the road for safety concerns, Medad said. It aims to "prevent accidents as the road is too narrow for two buses at the same time on the curves."
Shvut Rachel is built on Jalud village land. Israel confiscated 80 percent of the village's land to build six illegal settlements in the area, residents say. Sixty-five dunums of the confiscated land was planted with olive trees, which villagers have only been allowed to access twice in the last decade, said Abdullah Hajj Muhammad, the village mayor.
Robert Serry, the UN peace envoy, said he was alarmed that work had started on hundreds of new homes for settlers since the end of Israel's settlement freeze last month, Reuters reported Tuesday.
Settlers have begun building more than 600 homes and dug foundations for 300 units in dozens settlements since the partial moratorium expired in September, according to Peace Now, an Israeli group which opposes settlements
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=329168