- 12 jan 2011
Ya'alon: Construction in settlements to accelerate in the few coming days
OCCUPIED JERUSALEM, (PIC)-- Israel's deputy premier Moshe Ya'alon has said that construction in three West Bank settlements would witness a boom in the few coming days.
Hebrew website Walla quoted Ya'alon as saying on Wednesday that the Israeli government was discussing granting new construction permits in Ma'aleh Adumim, Ariel, and Efrat settlements in the north and south of the West Bank.
He added when the decision is taken "You will witness a huge construction boom other than the one currently ongoing".
Ya'alon, who is also the minister of strategic affairs, claimed that his government did not sanction new settlements but only expand those already established to honor an agreement to this effect with former American president George Bush.
http://bit.ly/gpMmSs 7 jan 2012, 21:23 , Respect -
Maria 13 jan 2011
Clinton: US "Can't Stop" Israel From Settling
Doha PNN - At a press conference in Doha, Qatar, US Secretary of State Hilary Clinton said the power of American foreign policy was inherently limited when it came to pressuring Israel.
Asked by an al-Jazeera reporter why Arab countries should take US advice when US pressure on Israel proved ineffectual, Clinton explained, Israel is a sovereign country and it makes its own decisions. [The US] can't stop a lot of countries from doing things that we disagree and we speak out against. I wish there was a way we could tell a lot of countries what they should do because there are a lot of countries doing things that are not in the best interests of their own people, their neighbors, or the world.
American pressure on Israel's illegal settlement policies has amounted, in the past months since Israeli-Palestinian peace talks were derailed over the issue of settlements, to statements of disappointment and discouragement. Most recently, Clinton called the demolition of the historic Shepherd Hotel in East Jerusalem a disturbing development.
However, neither Clinton nor US President Barack Obama has been able to enforce any kind of settlement freeze in the Palestinian territories. Clinton speculated that Israel's intransigence was due to caution over possible new violence in the West Bank.
You often make decisions based on your own experience and history, said Clinton. And when the Israelis pulled out of Lebanon they got Hezbollah and 40,000 rockets and when they pulled out of Gaza they got Hamas and 20,000 rockets.
Secretary Clinton was in Doha for a regional development conference.
http://bit.ly/fOFlHV
Attorney General warns Mayor Barkat over East Jerusalem building
AG Weinstein says failure by Jerusalem mayor to implement sealing order on Beit Yonatan could constitute a criminal offense.
Attorney General Yehuda Weinstein sent a letter to Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat on Thursday, demanding that the mayor move quickly and "without the interference of unauthorized elements" to implement a court-issued sealing order on Beit Yonatan.
Beit Yonatan is an illegally built home erected by Jews in a predominantly Arab neighborhood of Silwan in East Jerusalem.
In the letter, Weinstein wrote that delaying the implementation of the sealing order could constitute a criminal offense.
In late December, Barkat granted the residents of Beit Yonatan a last-minute reprieve from eviction.
Barkat prevented the eviction of Beit Yonatan residents by linking its sealing to that of a nearby building that has housed dozens of Palestinians for the past 50 years but is registered in the name of Ateret Cohanim members. http://bit.ly/gh9MtQ
Critics of Barkat said he linked the two evictions as part of a scheme to keep Beit Yonatan's residents in place.
http://bit.ly/edmcL2
Israel invests millions in Jewish museum in Silwan
OCCUPIED JERUSALEM, (PIC)-- Israel's Jerusalem municipality and Tourism Ministry have invested NIS 2 million in a project overseen by the right-wing Elad settlement fund to erect a Jewish museum in the so-called "City of David National Park".
The land, originally owned by an Arab who was declared missing after the six-day war, was nationalized under the Absentee Property Law and later cheaply rented out to Elad.
The municipality insisted that monies were not transferred to Elad, but that the sponsors invested in the project to promote tourism in the city.
Elad is a settlement fund which is active in Judaizing the predominantly Arab East Jerusalem Silwan district by acquiring Arab properties.
http://bit.ly/hgCmUl
Jerusalem municipality to build a Jewish museum in Silwan
Silwan, Jerusalem (SILWANIC) -- According to a report by Haaretz newspaper, the Jerusalem municipality and the Israeli ministry of tourism will transfer 2 million NIS for the construction of a Jewish museum in an Elad-controlled structure in the heart of Silwan village. The structure, which belongs to Moussa Abbasi, was confiscated by the Israeli state using the Absentee Property Law. Shortly after, the structure was leased long-term to Elad Association.
This move is just one in a series of provocations and part of a policy, endorsed by the Israeli authorities, to expand the Jewish presence in East Jerusalem in general and in Silwan in particular, at the expense of Palestinian residents.
http://silwanic.net/?p=10449 7 jan 2012, 21:23 , Respect -
Maria 14 jan 2011
Israeli occupation to build a hotel on the ruins of the Qashala cemetery
NAZARETH, (PIC)-- The Aqsa Foundation for Endowment and Heritage (AFEH) said that the Israeli occupation has started building a hotel on the ruins of the historical Qashala cemetery next to the Grand Mosque in the occupied city of Yaffa.
Dozens of graves have been bulldozed after the Israeli occupation antiquities authority dug the graveyard affording no respect for this historical Islamic site.
The Qashala cemetery is part of the Barreya cemetery which was used by Muslims during the Mamluk period then during the Ottoman period.
A statement by AFEH on Thursday said that representatives of the foundation made a field visit to the cemetery on Thursday and found out that Zionist firms had already started with wide scale preparations for the construction of a building, including moving large bulldozers and construction plant onto the site, bulldozing large areas, digging for foundation columns and starting construction works.
AFEH added that according to information available to it the hotel being built on the ruins of the cemetery is going to consist of a number of floors underground and a number of floors above ground which means the complete destruction of the historical cemetery and will also have a negative impact on the Grand Mosque.
http://bit.ly/eKMSyC 7 jan 2012, 21:24 , Respect -
Maria 16 jan 2011
Israeli planners may approve largest beyond Green Line settlement project yet
OCCUPIED JERUSALEM, (PIC)-- The Jerusalem Planning and Construction Committee will discuss next week approval of the largest yet settlement project outside the Green Line in East Jerusalem.
The project, expanding the Gilo settlement's borders toward the West Bank, will include the construction of more than 1,400 residential units, commercial buildings, roads, and parks, and is expected to attract international criticism.
Political clashes with the US pressured the Planning Committee, which is subsidiary to Israel's Jerusalem municipality, to pull the breaks on several smaller settlement projects in the area a little over a year ago.
"This is a more dangerous plan than its predecessors because of the mass of construction planned, and also because it is construction on the edges of Gilo and not inside the borders of the neighborhood," said Jerusalem councilman Meir Margalit.
Yariv Oppenheimer, General Manager of the Israeli Peace Now movement, expressed deep concern that the project would spark international reaction and harm Israel's already deteriorating status.
It is the largest settlement project outside of the Green Line, exceeding the size of the Har Homa and Ramat Shlomo settlements, which have strained Israel-world relations, Oppenheimer said.
http://bit.ly/gHAxdS
PA to US: Determined to seek UN anti-settlement resolution
Erekat declares that PA will ask UN Security Council to declare settlements illegal, despite Washington's opposition; PA will attempt to circumvent US veto power.
The Palestinian Authority has turned down a request from the US to refrain from seeking a UN Security Council resolution condemning settlements, Chief PLO negotiator Saeb Erekat declared on Sunday.
The PA has announced that it would present to the council a draft resolution that condemns settlements as illegal.
The US Administration has been putting pressure on the PA to refrain from going to the Security Council out of fear that such a move would have a negative impact on efforts to revive the stalled peace talks.
The Americans don't want us to present anything to the Security Council, Erekat said. But we made it clear to them that, for us, the Security Council was a gate to international legitimacy.
The PA is determined to seek the resolution from the Security Council in spite of Washington's opposition, Erekat stressed in a radio interview.
The PA envoy to the UN, Riad Mansour, is expected to hold consultations on Monday with other representatives in New York to set a date for presenting the draft resolution to the council, he added.
Erekat said that the PA was holding discussions with several countries, including the US, about the proposed draft resolution. We don't want this resolution to be met with a US veto by the US or any other party, he said. We will continue trying [to seek a UN Security Council resolution] even if there is a veto.
Erekat reiterated the PA's refusal to make any undignified concessions, holding the Israeli government fully responsible for the collapse of the peace talks. The Israeli government has chosen settlements over peace, he claimed. They bear responsibility for the failure of the peace process; this policy will lead to more violence, chaos, extremism and bloodshed.
He said that the US Administration should stop treating Israel as a state that is above the law and back international legitimacy instead of threatening to use the veto at the Security Council.
PA negotiator Nasbil Sha'ath reaffirmed the PA's refusal to resume the peace talks unless Israel halted all settlement construction, including in east Jerusalem.
He said that in light of the absence of peace talks and the armed struggle option, the Palestinians were now facing four options: a non-violent popular struggle, seeking international recognition of a Palestinian state, achieving national unity and building state institutions.
Sha'ath predicted that within three months all 34 Latin American countries would recognize a Palestinian state on the 1967 borders, with east Jerusalem as its capital.
We don't intend to negotiate about the land, but about drawing the border, he said. We won't give up any part of the Palestinian territories, especially Jerusalem.
http://www.jpost.com/MiddleEast/Article.aspx?id=203848
Radio: Massive Jerusalem settlement project
JERUSALEM (AFP) -- A massive new construction project of at least 1,400 homes is about to be authorized in a settlement neighborhood in occupied East Jerusalem, Israeli military radio reported Sunday.
The homes will be built in the settlement of Gilo, near Bethlehem, and are expected to be given the green light by the district planning commission in coming days, the report said
Speaking on the radio, municipal councillors confirmed the project, which was denounced by leftwingers but hailed by the right.
"There is no doubt that a green light for these constructions will deal a knockout blow to the peace process with the Palestinians," said Jerusalem city councillor Meir Margalit of the leftwing Meretz party.
Peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians have deadlocked over the issue of settlement in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem.
The Palestinians have refused to negotiate with Israel while it builds on land they want for their future state, but Israel has insisted on continuing settlement construction.
"Gilo is an integral part of Jerusalem. There can be no argument in Israel over construction in that neighborhood," said Elisha Peleg, a municipal council member from the rightwing Likud party of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The project, planned by private firms, could take close to four years to complete because of the difficulties of building on the steep slopes on the outskirts of the West Bank city of Bethlehem.
And the planned construction is likely to attract strong international criticism.
In March 2010, Israeli Interior Ministry announced a plan to build 1,600 homes in Ramat Shlomo, an Orthodox Jewish neighborhood in East Jerusalem.
The announcement, which came as US Vice President Joe Biden visited Israel, provoked fierce US opposition, and soured relations between Israel and Washington for months.
Israel captured East Jerusalem in the 1967 Six-Day War and later annexed it in a move the rest of the world never recognized. Israel considers the whole of Jerusalem to be its "eternal and indivisible" capital.
The Palestinians regard East Jerusalem as the capital of their promised state and fiercely oppose any attempts to extend Israeli control over it.
Since 1967, Israel has built several settlements in the eastern part of Jerusalem, with Gilo among the first of to be constructed.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=351407 7 jan 2012, 21:24 , Respect -
Maria 17 jan 2011
Palestinians to turn to Security Council this week
PA to request condemnation of settlements so as to isolate Israeli government, halt constructions; say negotiations will not resume until freeze resumed.
The Palestinians expect to submit their request for a UN Security Council condemnation of Israeli settlements next week and will not be deterred by a US appeal to abandon the idea, senior officials said Monday.
In recent weeks, the Palestinians have prepared a draft that would have the Security Council declare settlements illegal and demand a halt of their construction. During this time, Palestinian diplomats have tried to win support for the proposed resolution.
The appeal to the Security Council is part of a Palestinian strategy to try to isolate and exert pressure on the government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
US-sponsored Israeli-Palestinian negotiations, launched in September, quickly broke down over Israel's refusal to extend a 10-month moratorium on housing starts in West Bank settlements and include east Jerusalem, both claimed by the Palestinians. They say they will not resume talks unless construction is halted.
Saeb Erekat and Nabil Shaath, two senior aides to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, said Monday that US officials have urged the Palestinians not to seek an anti-settlement resolution from the Security Council. "We told them very clearly that (this) is something we are not going to do," Shaath said. "We are going to the Security Council."
Halt all construction?
In the United Arab Emirates, UN Chief Ban Ki-moon urged Israel on Monday "to freeze settlement activity anywhere in the occupied Palestinian territories, including in east Jerusalem."
Also Monday, the head of the UN's World Food Program, Josette Sheeran, toured the Palestinian city of Hebron to inspect the distribution of food through electronic vouchers, a program that agency officials say was first tried out in the West Bank.
In the past, needy Palestinians used to pick up their rations at food distribution centers. In 2009, the WFP introduced electronic vouchers, or debit cards, as part of a pilot project, agency officials said.
The vouchers work in urban areas where food is available but those relying on aid can't afford to buy it. In Hebron, the West Bank's largest city, the blue debit cards had the words "bon appetite" written in Arabic on them. Holders can buy staples like lentils, rice, oil and dairy products, at participating stores.
Sheeran visited one shop where 10 beneficiaries were buying supplies.
Ribhi Qawasmeh, 62, said he receives NIS 400 ($113) a month. He said the aid covers only a small part of the needs of his family of 12, but he likes it. "When I enter the supermarket and show the card, it won't look like I'm living on help," he said.
The electronic vouchers have since been introduced elsewhere, including among Iraqi refugees in Syria, the agency said.
In the West Bank, more than 32,000 of some 454,000 beneficiaries now pick up their food rations with the electronic vouchers.
Despite a modest economic recovery in the West Bank, many Palestinians still live in poverty exacerbated by years of political strife and restrictions imposed by Israel.
The UN Relief and Works Agency provides basic services for hundreds of thousands of Palestinian refugees and their descendants, while the WFP helps nearly 770,000 non-refugees in the West Bank and Gaza.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4015062,00.html
7 jan 2012, 21:24 , Respect -
Maria 17 jan 2011
Israel approves more East Jerusalem settler homes
JERUSALEM (AFP) -- The city council on Monday approved the building of another 122 Israeli settler homes in occupied East Jerusalem, a councilor said, a move likely to bring fresh censure from the international community.
Elisha Peleg, head of the conservative Likud group on the city council, told AFP its planning and construction committee had given the green light for construction of 90 housing units in Talpiot East and another 32 in Pisgat Zeev.
"It's no big deal," he said. "It's routine construction, we're always building in Jerusalem neighbourhoods ... does anyone know where the [dividing] line was? It's not Berlin where they had a wall."
On Sunday, the city said it was planning to add 1,400 new homes to the East Jerusalem settlement of Gilo, one of the first and largest Jewish-only districts in Jerusalem that Israel has built on land captured in the 1967 Six-Day War.
That announcement drew criticism from the international community, from Israeli left-wing politicians and activists, as well as Palestinian condemnation.
"We strongly condemn this Israeli escalation and continued decisions in the area of settlements and the imposition of new facts on the ground," chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erakat told AFP.
At the United Nations in New York, Arab ambassadors held talks Monday on when to put before the Security Council a resolution condemning Israeli settlement in the occupied territories.
The Palestinians want the resolution passed to put pressure on Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over the settlements. But US opposition to the resolution is at the heart of the timetable, diplomats said.
The Security Council is to hold a meeting on the Middle East and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict on Wednesday.
The draft resolution could be submitted for then, but some Arab nations want to wait a few extra days in hope of persuading the United States to support the move.
US-brokered peace negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians have deadlocked over the issue of illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem.
The Palestinians walked out of direct peace talks three weeks after they started in September when Israel baulked at extending a 10-month partial freeze on settlement construction in the West Bank.
They refuse to negotiate with Israel while it builds on land they want for a future state.
In March 2010, the Israeli Interior Ministry announced plans to build 1,600 settler homes in Ramat Shlomo, a Jewish Orthodox neighborhood in occupied East Jerusalem.
The announcement, which came as US Vice President Joe Biden was visiting Israel, provoked fierce American opposition and soured relations with Washington for several months.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=351993
East Jerusalem: Committee approves construction of 122 housing units
The local Planning and Construction Committee under the auspices of the Jerusalem Municipality decided to construct 90 housing units in the Talipiot East neighborhood and 32 housing units in Pisgat Zeev East both beyond the Green Line.
"The fact that the construction is beyond the Green Line is of little importance since it is clear that the only available land is in that area," stressed the head of the Likud faction in Jerusalem's Municipality Elisha Peleg. "Jerusalem is suffering from a severe shortage of available housing units."
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4015053,00.html
Erekat Confirms: Draft of Security Council Resolution Condemning Settlements Ready for Wednesday
Jericho %u2013 PNN - Chief Palestinian negotiator Dr. Saeb Erekat said on Monday that he had been instructed by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to bring the issue of illegal Israeli settlements to the UN Security Council on Wednesday. The vote is expected to be held later.
Erekat announced the date after a meeting with US Consul General Daniel Rubinstein and UN Special Envoy Robert Serry, explaining that the resolution would be presented by a full-member state of the UN, as Palestine only has observer status.
Erekat stressed that the policies of the Israeli government in expanding settlements, building walls, and besieging the Gaza Strip left no doubt that the Israeli government held the responsibility for the collapse of the peace process. He called on all members of the 15-state Security Council, of which five are permanent and have veto power, to support the Palestinian resolution, which would condemn Israeli settlement-building in the occupied territories, including the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
Resolutions passed at the Security Council must be executed, meaning Israel would be compelled to stop its settlement project. But the veto power of the United States, which has voted against all UN resolutions %u201Chostile to Israel%u201D in the past, may prove to be an insurmountable hurdle.
Erekat has urged the US not to use its veto power on the settlement resolution, and said he was in direct consultation with the other 14 members of the council. The West Bank is inhabited by more than half a million illegal settlers financed by the Israeli government over the last 44 years.
http://bit.ly/hG86S9
Tourism ministry condemns building of museum over leveled Jerusalem homes
GAZA, (PIC)-- The Gaza ministry of tourism and antiquities condemned a recently-launched Israeli project to erect a Jewish museum in Jerusalem, calling the project a new stage in the Judiazation of Jerusalem.
Israel plans to build the museum over homes it leveled in the city's largely Arab Silwan district.
Minister of tourism and antiquities Mohammed al-Agha said the Israelis are seeking to erase Jerusalem's Islamic history and claim a false Jewish history.
The Israelis stole thousands of artifacts after its 1967 occupation of the rest of Palestine, Agha said, quoting the then Israeli Prime Minister Moshe Dayan who was well known for stealing Palestinian artifacts as saying: "That I see a Palestinian pilot is easier to me than seeing a Palestinian Archaeologist."
The Israelis have recently begun a project to build a hotel in the occupied city of Yaffa on the ruins of the Islamic Qishla cemetery, which dates back to the Mamluk era.
Earlier this week, Israel eased access to the "little Western Wall" located in the Islamic Old city of Jerusalem near one of the Aqsa Mosque's gates. The site is part of the Aqsa Mosque.
http://bit.ly/fKqaBj 7 jan 2012, 21:24 , Respect -
Maria 18 jan 2011
'Victims alone can end Israeli crimes'
Israel continues its illegal settlement activities despite international condemnation.
An American political activist says that the Palestinian-Israeli conflict can only be solved if the victims of Israel's crimes put an end to Tel Aviv's activities.
In an interview with Press TV, political activist and author of Hidden History of Zionism Ralph Schoenman said that Israel had no purpose but to remove the Palestinian people from their homeland and history.
As Israel's settlement expansion continues, Schoenman stressed that those able to end Israel's illegal activities are the very victims -- the Palestinian people, and for that matter the settler population, the Jews of Israel who are subject to a colonial regime.
That's the task of the future, the struggle of the population against not just the [Zionist] regime, but the false leadership of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), the Palestinian Authority, which is operated and funded by the Central Intelligence Agency in order to prevent the people of Palestine from acting in their own interests they did during the Intifada."
According to Schoenman, the future of the Palestinian people and settlers remains questionable as long as Israel, in which human rights depend on ethnicity and religious affiliations, stays in power.
According to data from the Palestinian Information Center, Israel has demolished 995 Palestinian homes and displaced 5,783 people -- among them 3,109 children -- in the occupied al-Quds since the start of 2000.
Tel Aviv has defied the international community by continuing its settlement construction activities on occupied Palestinian territories.
http://www.presstv.com/detail/160806.html
IOA to build more settlement units in OJ
OCCUPIED JERUSALEM, (PIC)-- The Israeli occupation authority (IOA) has endorsed the construction of 32 housing units in Pisgat Ze'ev north of occupied Jerusalem in line with the Jerusalem envelope plan that would be completed within a year to completely isolate the holy city from the West Bank.
The new units are part of a bloc of 220 units to be built in the same area.
The Israeli radio quoted the municipality officials of Jerusalem as saying that no change had occurred to the building policy in occupied Jerusalem over the past 40 years.
The Jerusalem envelope plan endorsed by Israel's deputy chief of staff Yair Naveh would continue building the separation barrier over the remaining unfinished spots in 2011.
http://bit.ly/fFbpya
New Settlers Homes and New Wall Section in East Jerusalem
Jerusalem PNN - The Israeli government approved 32 new homes for settlers to be built in the Pisgat Ze'ev settlement near Jerusalem on Monday night.
According to Israeli sources, the new homes are part of a plan that includes 220 new homes in Palestinian East Jerusalem, which was submitted to the Israeli government by private contractors.
Meanwhile, the Israeli army radio announced on Tuesday morning that the army approved the building of new sections of the wall that surround east Jerusalem. The army central command announced that the last sections of the wall, 20 kilometers long, will be finshed by the end of 2011. Israel has already fished building 200 kilometers of the wall that surrounds East Jerusalem.
According to the army report, the new wall construction will be near Ramallah and Shofat to the north of Jerusalem's Old City. The army says that once the wall is completed, Jerusalem will be totally cut off from the rest of the West Bank and no illegal workers will be able to enter the city.
Israeli allows a limited number of West Bank residents to enter Jerusalem for work, health treatment and family affairs.
Palestinian sources said that this new wall section, if completed, will leave 125,000 Palestinians from Jerusalem-area villages cut off from the city.
In an earlier statement, Yakier Saghif, director of East Jerusalem affairs in the Israeli municipality, announced that the wall and settlements around Jerusalem were for political and demographical reasons, not only for security.
http://bit.ly/ibfbt3
Arabs seek anti-settlement UN resolution
A UN Security Council session (file photo)
Arab nations are set to formally demand that the United Nations Security Council to condemn Israel over its illegal settlement constructions.
Arab envoys at the UN have decided to formally register a draft resolution against Tel Aviv at the Security Council before the end of Tuesday, Tunisia's UN envoy Ghazi Jomaa told reporters on Monday, AFP reported.
Jomaa, who also chairs the Arab group, said that the draft calls for a complete freeze on Israel's illegal construction activities on occupied Palestinian territories.
The Security Council is to discuss the Middle East and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict on Wednesday.
Palestinian and other Arab negotiators are reportedly trying to persuade the United States not to veto the resolution.
The United States traditionally vetoes resolutions which condemn Israel.
Lebanon's envoy Nawaf Salam said more meetings would be held to decide when to press for a vote.
The Palestinians want the resolution passed to put pressure on Tel Aviv its illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank .
The 15-member Security Council has repeatedly condemned Israeli settlement activities in the past.
http://www.presstv.com/detail/160665.html
UN slams Israel over illegal settlements
An illegal Israeli settlement in the occupied West Bank (file photo)
The United Nations has lashed at Israel for ignoring international calls to stop the expansion of its illegal settlement activities on occupied Palestinian lands.
A UN statement said on Monday that Tel Aviv has ignored the international community's repeated calls for a complete end to illegal settlement activities in the occupied West Bank and East al-Quds (Jerusalem) in particular.
The statement also said Israel's recent allocation of half a billion dollars to the expansion of settlements shows that Tel Aviv has no intention of stopping its illegal policies.
Israel has also approved the building of 1,400 settlement units in recent weeks.
The Palestinian Authority walked out of direct talks with Israel late last year after Tel Aviv refused to renew a partial freeze on settlement activities in the West Bank.
Israel occupied and annexed East al-Quds in 1967 Six-Day War in a move never recognized by the international community.
According to data from the Palestinian Information Center, Israel has demolished 995 Palestinian homes and displaced 5,783 individuals -- among them 3,109 children -- in the occupied al-Quds since the start of 2000.
This is while Israel proceeds persistently with the construction of settlements on the occupied territories of the West Bank and East al-Quds.
The UN has on various occasions criticized Israel for defying international calls to halt its settlement construction expansions.
http://www.presstv.com/detail/160663.html 7 jan 2012, 21:24 , Respect -
Maria 19 jan 2011
UN rights board calls for complete halt on Israeli settlement activity
NEW YORK, (PIC)-- A UN human rights board called Tuesday on world powers to force Israel to put a dead-end on peace-impeding settlement plans, and expressed sorrow over the world's lack of political will.
The board, which is interested in preserving the "inalienable rights of the Palestinians", said the future of the peace process is pending on balance, as settlement construction and Palestinian home destruction go on despite international calls for a complete freeze.
The board, formed in 1975, expressed sorrow over the lack of political will from the international community, which has taken no real steps to stop settlement expansion despite its unlawfulness under popular opinion.
The statement says Israel's allocation of 500 million dollars for settlement activity in 2012 implies clear intention to continue illegal policy, stripping negotiations with the Palestinians of any meaning, and threatening with a possibility of a two-state solution based on pre-1967 borders.
http://bit.ly/dNn1Xj
Abu Sha'ar slams Israel's plan to build 32 housing units in O. Jerusalem
GAZA, (PIC)-- Palestinian minister of religious affairs Taleb Abu Sha'ar strongly denounced the declared Israeli plan to build 32 new housing units in Pisgat Ze'ev settlement, north of occupied Jerusalem.
Abu Sha'ar in a statement on Tuesday said the Israeli occupation state is accelerating its settlement and Judaization activities in Jerusalem to impose a fait accompli.
He added that these units are part of a wider settlement plan aimed at building 220 housing units for Jewish settlers in the city.
The minister also warned that Israel intends to build a segregation wall around Jerusalem within one year to isolate it from other nearby Palestinian villages and towns, affirming that the occupation finished building 200 kilometers of this wall.
The Palestinian official appealed to the Arab and Muslim countries as well as the international community to necessarily intervene to stop Israel's serious violations against the holy city.
http://bit.ly/hY1Ozi
Report: US to oppose condemnation of settlements
BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- The United States opposes submission of a Palestinian and Arab draft resolution to condemn the expansion of settlements in the West Bank at the United Nations, US State Department spokesman Philip Crowley says.
Crowley was quoted by the Israel's Channel 10 as saying that the only way to establish a Palestinian state is through direct negotiations with the Israelis. The website said Crowley's remarks came in response to a UN Security Council meeting scheduled for Wednesday to discuss a draft resolution requested by the Palestinians and the Arab group at the UN.
The spokesman has asserted that the US administration opposes bilateral steps, and so will oppose any attempt to seek recognition of independent Palestinian state through the UN Security Council.
Channel 10 drew a conclusion based on Crowley's remarks that the US would veto condemnation of Israel's settlement construction despite that the US administration has been demanding that Israel freeze that construction.
Asked to explain why the US would be opposed to the Security Council recognizing Palestinian statehood even though it was the same UN body that recognized the state of Israel in 1948, Crowley said the circumstances were different and that seeking Security Council recognition now will seriously harm the peace process.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=352429 7 jan 2012, 21:24 , Respect -
Maria 20 jan 2011
Erekat: More than 100 countries back UN action
BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- The chief PLO negotiator says he has the backing of more than 100 countries for a resolution condemning settlements at the UN Security Council.
Saeb Erekat told Ma'an radio that the Palestinian leadership in Ramallah would not postpone efforts to condemn settlements until after the Quartet meets, despite reports to the contrary.
Erekat also denied reports that he would hold a meeting with Israeli officials during the visit of US envoys Dennis Ross and George Mitchell, saying he had no knowledge of their travel plans.
The official speculated that reports of a return to talks in the Israeli media were "propaganda" to reassure the Israeli public that everything is all right.
Nevertheless, he said, the PLO, the Fatah central committee, and President Mahmoud Abbas have made their final decision to suspend negotiations until Israel commits to complete cessation of settlement in the Palestinian territories including East Jerusalem.
Commenting on recent remarks by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Erekat said the Palestinians were not waiting for a new Israeli government, just for the current one to respect its obligations and cease settlements.
He accused Netanyahu of closing the door to negotiations and peace by choosing settlements.
The UK's minister for the Middle East, Alistair Burt, said Wednesday that Britain would "consider any draft resolution carefully," but that the priority of the government remained a return to direct negotiations.
"Anything that is a hurdle, or a barrier to be cleared, is not particularly helpful. We've said that in relation to the settlements," Burt said, applying the idea also to the resolution condemning those settlements.
The principle element to be determined in the consideration of the resolution, he said, was to understand how it fit into the policy on the return to direct negotiations.
Palestinian officials, in their bid to have the resolution adopted, have said that a UN reaffirmation on the issue and a forced end to settlement construction -- which US mediators failed to secure during two months of bilateral talks -- would open the door to a return to negotiations.
On Wednesday, PLO negotiator Nabil Sha'ath told a delegation of French senators that he believed the US would not use its veto, given all the statements from the administration condemning settlements and their continued construction.
Israeli analysts, however, have said the US has made it clear that officials would not let the resolution pass, prompting cries from critics and accusations that US statements have been confined to rhetoric.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=352808
'U.K. to consider UN censure of Israel's West Bank settlements'
Comment by Foreign Office official comes as dovish advocacy group J Street voices support for the recently submitted draft resolution; Americans for Peace now urge Obama to refrain from vetoing the move.
The United Kingdom would consider support of UN condemnation of Israeli settlements, a Foreign Office official told the Palestinian Ma'an news agency on Thursday, as several left-leaning U.S. groups urged Washington not to veto the effort.
Arab nations on Wednesday submitted a draft resolution to the UN Security Council condemning Israeli settlements in the West Bank, with diplomats saying that a vote on it is not expected any time soon because of a likely U.S. veto.
The point of the resolution, diplomats say, is to highlight Washington's isolated position on the Security Council, show the Palestinian population that the Palestinian Authority is taking action, and to pressure Israel and the United States on the settlement issue.
Speaking with reporters during a visit to Jordan on Thursday, Foreign Office minister Alistair Burt said the U.K. would "consider any draft resolution carefully adding that "anything that is a hurdle, or a barrier to be cleared, is not particularly helpful. We've said that in relation to the settlements."
Also referring to the possible UN condemnation of Israel's settlement activities, dovish U.S. advocacy group J Street said that "as a pro-Israel organization and as Americans, we advocate for what we believe to be in the long-term interests of the state of Israel and of the United States"."
"Ongoing settlement expansion runs counter to the interests of both countries and against commitments Israel itself has made," a J Street statement said.
The J Street statement added that the draft UN resolution "introduced in the United Nations Security Council this week condemns Israel's ongoing settlement activity and calls on both parties to continue negotiating final status issues in an effort to resolve the conflict in the short term," adding that those were "sentiments that we share and that we believe a majority of Jewish Americans and friends of Israel share."
"While we hope never to see the state of Israel publicly taken to task by the United Nations, we cannot support a U.S. veto of a Resolution that closely tracks long-standing American policy and that appropriately condemns Israeli settlement policy," J Street added.
Also commenting on the possible UN condemnation of settlement activities, Americans for Peace Now urged the administration of U.S. President Barack Obama to avoid vetoing the resolution, saying that it was "indefensible that the Netanyahu government, heedless of the damage settlement activity does to Israel's own interests and indifferent to the Obama Administration's peace efforts, has not only refused to halt settlement activity but has opened the floodgates, including in the most sensitive areas of East Jerusalem. In this context, the move by the United Nations Security Council to censure Israel's settlement activity should surprise no one."
"Given this context and content, APN calls on the Obama Administration to not veto this resolution in its current form," the rights group added, saying that "vetoing this resolution would conflict with four decades of U.S. policy. It would contribute to the dangerously naive view that Israeli settlement policies do no lasting harm to Israel. "
"And it would send a message to the world that the U.S. is not only acquiescing to Israel's actions, but is implicitly supporting them," the statement said.
http://bit.ly/ei0KHg
FM Malki Condemns Land Rush in Jerusalem
In an interview with Arab newspaper Asharq al-Awsat on Thursday Palestinian Authority Foreign Minister Riad Malki condemned the "land rush" and "Judaization" of Jerusalem,
Malkim told the newspaper that, "The occupation's land rush in Sheikh Jarrah in Jerusalem is in full swing, working for the Judaization of many different neighborhoods of the city," he said, naming Sheikh Jarrah, Isawiya and the area near the Damascus Gate.
"When Israel announced the construction of 1400 new housing units in east Jerusalem, there were severe condemnations from the United Nations and many other parties," Malki reportedly said. "Condemnations are important...but this did not stop Israel from Judaizing the city, changing its features and bringing settlers rather than indigenous people."
"Israel is fully aware that the responses do not rise to more than condemnation and denunciation, and therefore do not bother with them and continue its aggression," Malki said. "The Lord protects Jerusalem, despite the serious assaults by Israel against its Arab, Islamic holy city."
http://www.imemc.org/article/60471
Palestinians Submit Draft Resolution to UN Security Council Condemning Settlements
New York City PNN - A representative from Lebanon, acting on behalf of Palestine, submitted a resolution to the UN Security Council on Wednesday condemning Israeli settlement activity and demanding that it be declared illegal. Voting on the bill is likely to be delayed for at least a week.
All 15 UN Security Council members received copies of the proposed resolution, which was signed by 122 of 192 UN member states. Meanwhile, due to the continuing Israeli Foreign Ministry strike, meaning the Israeli UN representative would only be able to make comments on the resolution by phone however, recent reports suggest he is boycotting the discussion altogether.
No discussion of the resolution took place, but the United States Deputy Ambassador Rosemary DiCarlo voiced her disapproval, saying the Security Council should not intervene in Israeli-Palestinian negotiations, which have been stalled since September 2010 over the issue of settlements.
Meanwhile UN Undersecretary for Political Affairs Lynn Pascoe said, The sharp increase in Israeli settlement construction activity recorded at the end of the settlement moratorium on 26 September 2010 has continued, with construction work beginning on up to 2,000 units in the West Bank since that time. We are also worried at plans to expand the Gilo settlement in East Jerusalem near Bethlehem. I reiterate the Secretary-General's call on Israel to freeze all settlement activity in conformity with international law and the Roadmap [to Peace].
The United States is expected to veto the resolution when it comes to a vote in the Security Council, but the date of the vote is unknown some analysts predict a vote will not come before a February 5 meeting of the Quartet, the Israeli-Palestinian negotiating body made up of Russia, the United States, the European Union, and the United Nations.
Others, including top Palestinian negotiator Nabil Sha'ath, said the United States probably won't veto the resolution to avoid the diplomatic embarrassment of opposing a resolution that uses the same words American statements have used in the past to condemn settlements.
Sha'ath was surprised to hear from Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, according to UN insiders, that several unnamed Arab states did not support the resolution for fear of offending the United States.
They argue the timing is not appropriate, said Sha'ath.
http://bit.ly/foEYU8
UK will consider resolution, but talks remain goal
By Nora Parr
RAMALLAH (Ma'an) -- As Palestinians table a draft resolution at the UN, hoping to push international actors to make an official move on the issue of Israeli settlements, the UK's Minister of Foreign Office Alistair Burt wrapped up a tour of the West Bank and Israel, and gave little indication that Britain would come out in favor of the draft.
"Its not up for decision immediately," Burt said, "Our position on settlements that the draft resolution covers is generally pretty well known, pretty well covered ... we hold settlements to be illegal in occupied territories, and we've made that very clear when we deal with the government of Israel."
While he said the UK's delegation at the UN would "consider any draft resolution carefully," the policy of the government remained a return to direct negotiations.
"Anything that is a hurdle, or a barrier to be cleared is not particularly helpful, we've said that in relation to the settlements," he said, applying the idea also to the resolution condemning those settlements.
"I made a statement on the Shepherd's Hotel," Burt said, in reference to the demolition of the former home of the Jerusalem Mufti who was exiled under the British and whose property eventually landed in the hands of a private Israeli settlement developer, who razed it last week.
In his statement, Burt said the UK had "always been clear that settlements are illegal and an obstacle to peace. Pushing ahead with this plan [to demolish the hotel] would be a deeply unhelpful move and hinder efforts to resume talks between the two parties leading to a two-state solution to this conflict."
The principle element to be determined in the consideration of the resolution, Burt said, was to understand how it fit into the policy on the return to direct negotiations.
Palestinian officials, in their bid to have the resolution adopted, have said that a UN reaffirmation on the issue and a forced end to settlement construction - which US mediators failed to secure during two months of bilateral talks - would open the door to a return to negotiations.
On Wednesday, negotiations official Nabil Shaath told a delegation of French senators that he believed the US would not use its veto on the issue, given all the statements from the administration condemning settlements and their continued construction.
Israeli analysts, however, have said the US has made it clear that officials would not let the resolution pass, prompting cries from critics and accusations that US statements have been confined to rhetoric.
"Don't dismiss the rhetoric," Burt urged, however, saying that in the British case, words represent "clear positions taken by the British government that are down on paper and which are there for the press, for the public and for the Israeli government to see.
"This is serious stuff that the government puts in writing."
Burt said he, a former member of the Conservative Friends of Israel, "is quite often picked up" on issues he has raised in the House of Commons. "Its down in the Hansard that I have condemned the Shepherd's Hotel demolition, that we disagree with the settlement policy, of the Israeli detentions policy, of the late callings on children," he said.
"In answering questions in Israel about British government policy I don't get many people who say oh you're too soft on us you know. I do get plenty the other way."
On his appointment in the spring, the Conservative Friends of Israel called Burt the right choice for the post. Palestinian observers were not as sure. Would Burt's support of Israel bias him in the building of British policy?
"No, what it gives is an appreciation and understanding for the Israeli position over a long time and the ability to talk very directly to friends," Burt said, adding that "No one in Israel is in a position, or has even thought of querying my sense of understanding of what Israel is and what it wishes to be, and always wanted to see an Israel that was at ease and peace with its neighbors, and to have the ability to work for that is very important.
"I'm friends with the middle East, I've been warmly received by my Palestinian friends who have respected the fact that I have a direct engagement with Israel, that I hope have seen through my actions and my contacts with them and what I have said in the house of commons on these issues of concern, I hope that they have been able to see that I am an objective supporter of British Foreign Policy.
"We all have good friends on all different sides of issues, its how you use your friendship that is the most important thing, I hope I've given people a clear sense of how I want to use that friendship in the best interests of peace in the Middle East."
On unilateral declarations of statehood
During Burt's visit to the region, Russian President Dimitry Medvedev reaffirmed his nation's recognition of a Palestinian state, saying the Soviet Union's recognition of then President Yasser Arafat's 1988 declaration of independence remained valid.
Palestinians continue to press the world community to recognize a state on the 1967 borders, with a wave of success in South America and now a foothold in Europe.
EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, however, said following requests from PA officials that recognition would come when it was "appropriate."
"We cannot recognize a state that does not have a capital, and doesn't have borders," Burt said.
"We are looking forward to recognizing a Palestinian state at the end of the negotiations on settlements because our position is again very straightforward: We wish to see a two-state solution, a secure and recognized Israel side by side with a viable Palestine, Jerusalem as a joint capital and agreed borders. That's where we want to get to. When we get there, that of course will imply a recognition of a state of Palestine."
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=352604
PA draft resolution: Declare settlements illegal
Israel absent from discussion
Lebanon presents UN Security Council with Palestinian proposal to declare construction in West Bank, east Jerusalem illegal. Israel absent from discussion due to ongoing Foreign Ministry work dispute.
WASHINGTON The Palestinians are making headway at the UN, while Israel's Foreign Service is on strike.
The Palestinians submitted to the Security Council a draft resolution proposing to declare Israeli settlements as illegal. Israel was absent from the discussion, due to strikes in the Foreign Ministry.
The proposal was distributed among the Security Council members, but was not discussed nor voted on.
The United States opposed the submittal of the draft resolution, and the Palestinian members had to make due with only presenting it to the UNSC members during a monthly discussion on "the situation in the Middle East and the Palestinian question."
Had to make phonecalls. Meron
The Israeli delegation was absent from the meeting following an instruction from the Foreign Ministry workers union. Israel'd Ambassador to the United Nations Reuven Meron called the ambassadors of other Security Council members and explained that Israel's absence was not politically motivated, but rather due to an internal work dispute.
The latest crisis in the Foreign Service has left Israel almost helpless in the face of the Palestinian progress in gaining international recognition, culminating with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev's declaration during his visit to the Palestinian Authority this week.
Show of power
Palestinian flag waived outside PLO mission in Washington
The draft proposal, which was presented by Lebanon the rotating Arab member on the Security Council was signed by 122 out of 192 member states.
The proposal demands that Israel halts construction in settlements that are on Palestinian territory, and defines the construction on all lands occupied in 1967 as illegal and a key obstacle to a comprehensive, just peace agreement.
The Palestinian observer to the United Nations Riyad Mansour admitted that "if it was up to us, we would have liked to see the Security Council act immediately," adding that it was the United States that was blocking the move.
The US has repeatedly made clear that it objects to any unilateral step that might thwart efforts to bring both sides back to the negotiationing table. Although the United States opposes Israel's construction in the settlements, it is also against Palestinian attempts to drag other international players into the conflict.
Shepherd Hotel. Included in proposal
US' Deputy Ambassador to the United Nations Rosemary DiCarlo stated that negotiations can progress only if the two sides engage in direct talks and not with the intervention of the Security Council.
During the Security Council discussion, United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs Lynn Pascoe presented a monthly review of the situation in the Middle East and reiterated Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's demand that Israel stop all activity in the West Bank.
Pascoe added that Israel has begun building some 2,000 new housing units in the West Bank since the moratorium expired on September 26 of last year.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4016407,00.html
Brazil, Malaysia slam Israeli settlements
Brazil's Ambassador to the UN Maria Luiza Ribeiro Viotti
Brazil and Malaysia have condemned Israel's illegal construction on the occupied Palestinian land following the submission of an anti-settlement draft resolution to the UN Security Council by Arab nations.
The countries' ambassadors at the Security Council meeting on Wednesday blamed the collapse of direct negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority late last year on Tel Aviv's refusal to extend a partial settlement freeze last September, Xinhua reported.
"We once again reiterate our call on Israel to heed the unanimous call of the international community in this regard," Brazil's permanent representative to the UN, Maria Luiza Ribeiro Viotti, said in an address to the Council.
She said that Israel's decision to not renew the settlement moratorium and accelerating the pace of construction is "not only illegal" but also risks a two-state solution, emphasizing that settlement activity in occupied Palestinian territories must immediately cease.
Hamidon Ali, who represents Malaysia at the United Nations, echoed the Brazilian envoy and stated that "the continued occupation of Palestinian territory and its ramifications are unacceptable."
The Arab nations submitted a draft resolution to the UN Security Council on Wednesday demanding condemnation of illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank and East al-Quds (Jerusalem).
Israel's decision not to renew the moratorium prompted Palestinian Authority negotiators to walk out of US-sponsored direct talks they had started with Israeli leaders three weeks earlier in Washington.
The UN has repeatedly declared Israeli settlement buildings on Palestinian land as illegal.
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/161019.html 7 jan 2012, 21:24 , Respect -
Maria 21 jan 2011
Ban Ki-moon: Settlements are illegal, hamper talks
UN Sec.-Gen. calls for end of "irresponsible rhetoric" questioning two-state solution; says he's "concerned at lack of progress towards peace."
UNITED NATIONS ; UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called Friday for a halt to "irresponsible rhetoric" that questions a two-state Israeli-Palestinian solution and incites hatred and violence.
With a September target date looming for agreement on the outlines of a peace deal, the UN chief again called on Israel to freeze settlement construction on Palestinian land so negotiations can start.
Ban said: Settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory are illegal under international law, contravene the Road Map obligations of Israel, undermine confidence, prejudge the outcome of the permanent status negotiations and hamper efforts at bringing the parties back to the negotiating table," AFP reported.
"We cannot afford to lose any further time," he stressed.
Ban said the Palestinians have the right to an independent state, Israel has a right to live in peace within secure borders, and a way must be found for Jerusalem to emerge as the capital of the two states "with arrangements for the holy sites acceptable to all."
"There is no place for irresponsible rhetoric that calls into question these fundamentals, seeks to delegitimize the other's heritage or incites hatred and violence," he told the opening meeting of the UN Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People.
Ban's speech reflected growing UN frustration with the stalemate in negotiations. The talks stalled just weeks after restarting last September because Israel lifted a moratorium on construction in Jewish settlements in the West Bank and east Jerusalem. The Palestinians hope to form a state that includes the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
The Palestinians have been drumming up international support for recognition of a Palestinian state as early as this fall. This week, they got 122 countries to co-sponsor a draft Security Council resolution condemning Israeli settlements.
Riyad Mansour, the Palestinian UN observer, told the committee on Friday the number of co-sponsors will definitely increase "as an indication that the international community is determined that Israel has to comply with its obligation with regard to settlement activities."
The United States, which has been trying to revive the stalled peace talks, is against settlement expansion but has strongly opposed Security Council involvement.
Seeking an immediate vote on the resolution would put the administration of US President Barack Obama in a tough position of antagonizing most of the world, especially the Arabs, with a veto, or antagonizing Israel with an abstention.
Council members have said the Palestinians are likely to hold off until after the main Mideast mediators known as the Quartet the US, the UN, the European Union and Russia meet in Munich, Germany, on Feb. 5 to talk about the Mideast stalemate.
Mansour indicated that the Palestinians don't believe the US alone can get negotiations moving.
He said the Palestinians want the Quartet, "with the very active role of the United Nations," to take the lead and adopt decisions at next month's meeting "that could demonstrate a decisive, firm and clear leadership by the Quartet in the months ahead as we move ahead to complete a peace treaty between us and our neighbors, the Israelis, before September 2011."
"We know the international community is working very hard with us ... so that we can succeed this time," he said.
Mansour thanked the secretary-general for the "principled position" and "strong spirit" in his statement.
Ban said in his speech that the international community has gained "renewed confidence" in the past year at the Palestinians' ability to govern themselves, citing "major strides" in strengthening institutions and delivering improved governance, transparency, economic opportunity and security in areas it controls.
"I am encouraged by the World Bank's assessment that the Palestinian Authority is well positioned for the establishment of a state at any point in the near future," the secretary-general said. "It deserves recognition as a dependable partner."
http://www.jpost.com/International/Article.aspx?id=204702
Obama envoys hope to preserve Israeli 'military edge'
JERUSALEM (AFP) -- Senior White House adviser Dennis Ross and another top US official arrived in Israel on Thursday for talks about Israel's security needs, an official statement said.
Ross and David Hale, adviser to US Middle East envoy George Mitchell, would "hold talks about questions regarding Israel's security needs as well as other issues related to regional security," Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said.
"The aim is to protect the qualitative military edge of the IDF within the framework of negotiations with the Palestinians, so that Israel's relative advantage will be preserved in any future agreement," it said without giving further details.
Defense Minister Ehud Barak's office said he would meet Ross in Tel Aviv on Thursday for talks about "preserving Israel's qualitative edge, renewing peace negotiations with the Palestinians and regional security."
Israeli media said the envoys would also meet Netanyahu, although an official said no such meeting was scheduled for Thursday.
Ross made a similar visit last month for what the media said were talks about Israel's security needs in any final-status negotiations with the Palestinians.
Israel and the Palestinians are no longer holding any form of peace negotiations after direct talks broke down late last year in a dispute over Jewish settlement-building on Palestinian land.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=352927
PLO to US: Negotiations not a substitute for int`l law
RAMALLAH (Ma'an) --You cannot take international law out of the negotiations. Nor can you set one up in opposition to the other,"
PLO Executive Committee member Hanan Ashrawi said Thursday in a statement, as a nations started weighing in on a draft resolution condemning settlement construction in the West Bank.
"Negotiations are not a substitute for international law and the rights of Palestinians. Yet this is the message the US administration seems to be sending in its opposition to a Security Council Resolution reaffirming the illegality of Israeli settlements, Dr Ashrawi said.
While UK and French officials have said their delegates would consider the draft, Israel announced it would boycott the session, and the US has come out strongly saying it believes the resolution would prove a stumbling block to a return to direct talks.
But Palestinians say that the resolution would just put on the international record what states and other bodies have already said publicly. The settlements, they say, are the stumbling block, and a resolution ensuring their cessation would in fact prompt Palestinians back into talks.
Israeli settlements are first and foremost a grave violation of international law. Their illegality is not a matter for discussion or bilateral negotiations. It is universally recognized, including by the United States," Ashrawi argued in her statement.
There are no negotiations precisely because of illegal Israeli settlement activity, and America's inability to bring Israel to compliance with international law and the most basic imperatives of the two-state solution.
Palestinians have every right to pursue whatever legal means are available to us to restore our basic rights and freedoms, regardless of whether or not we are in negotiations. This includes exploring our options in the United Nations. To oppose this right effectively means closing down what few avenues are available to Palestinians, in the absence of negotiations, to continue our national struggle through non-violent means, Dr Ashrawi concluded.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=352950
Clinton: Washington Opposes Security Council Move Against Israeli Settlement Activities
U.S Secretary Of State, Hilary Clinton stated Thursday that the White House rejects the proposal that was submitted by the Palestinian Authority to the United Nations in an attempt to condemn Israel's settlement activities in the occupied territories.
Clinton said that the United States had no doubts that this proposal does not help the efforts to resume the stalled peace talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority.
She stated that the U.S. Administration opposes Israel's settlement activities but added that both Israel and the United States must reach a settlement through negotiations and not through the United Nations or any other international body.
Responding to a question while talking to reporters at the White House, Clinton did not clearly said whether the U.S. will use the Veto power at the security council should the proposal is submitted to the United Nations.
Also on Thursday, British Foreign Secretary, Alistair Burt, stated that his country rejects a one-sided declaration of the state, and added that this state should be created through direct peace talks.
Yet, he hinted that his country could vote for the Palestinian proposal that condemns Israel's settlement activities in the occupied territories, but added that London cannot recognize a state that has no borders and no capital.
We are looking forwards, to recognizing a Palestinian state and declare at the final stage of peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians, Bert said, We believe in a two-state solution that provides security to Israel and independence to Palestine, we believe in a viable Palestinian state, and in Jerusalem as a joint capital with clearly defined borders.
http://www.imemc.org/article/60475
France to back 'moderate' Israel settler resolution
By Philippe Rater
TEL AVIV, Israel (AFP) -- France will vote for a UN Security Council resolution on Israeli settlements drafted by Arab states if it is moderate and does not halt a resumption of peace talks, its foreign minister said Thursday.
"If this resolution is moderate and if it does not block the resumption of (peace) negotiations, we will certainly vote for it," Michele Alliot-Marie said following a day of talks with Israeli and Palestinian leaders.
Alliot-Marie is on a four-day tour that also includes the Palestinian territories, Egypt and Jordan, her first tour of the region since being appointed in November.
The comments came the day after the UK's Minister of the Foreign Office told Ma'an that British representatives would consider the draft. Minister Alistair Burt, like Alliot-Marie, said the priority was peace talks, and said that it was not yet clear how the resolution would affect them.
World powers are seeking ways to get Israel and the Palestinians back to the negotiating table after talks broke down in September when a 10-month freeze on Jewish construction in the West Bank expired.
The Palestinians are refusing to resume negotiations while Israel builds on land they want for their future state, but efforts to convince Israel to impose a new ban failed late last year.
"We have to move toward peace, it is in the interest of everyone and in the interest of Israel's security," Alliot-Marie said.
On Wednesday, chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erakat said a UN resolution condemning Israeli settlement building is to be put to the vote in February. He told Ma'an that more than 100 UN member states had expressed support for the draft, which will go before the 15-member Security Council.
"Our position is one of being opposed to settlements; this is for certain," Alliot-Marie told reporters.
"We must see how the proposed resolution is drafted," she added. "If the terms are moderate and, above all, if they do not close the door to a possible resumption of negotiations, it is possible that we would vote for it."
Erakat said the Security Council would vote after a February 5 meeting of the Middle East Quartet of Russia, the United States, the European Union and the United Nations.
The French minister first met with opposition chief Tzipi Livni and President Shimon Peres.
"If we want to have a relationship based on trust, we must push forward with the negotiations and with practical steps," she said. "Israel's security will be guaranteed all the more when a stable Palestinian state exists."
Peres, in remarks broadcast by public radio, acknowledged "difficulties in the peace process," but said they were no reason to "stop the process or to give up."
Following lunch with Israeli counterpart Avigdor Lieberman, Alliot-Marie met Palestinian premier Salam Fayyad in Jerusalem.
During the evening, she met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu before dinner with Defence Minister Ehud Barak in Tel Aviv.
Netanyahu told her Israel will work to end Gaza's dependency on his country.
"During their conversation ... Netanyahu said that Israel would strive to disengage from the Gaza Strip with regard to infrastructure utilities like electricity and water," a statement said, providing no further details.
Israel withdrew troops and settlers from Gaza in 2005, but still supplies some 70 percent of the strip's electricity, with the rest being provided by Egypt and local power plants.
It was not immediately clear where Gaza would get its electricity if Israel cuts supplies.
On Friday, Alliot-Marie is to travel to Gaza in what will be the first visit by a French foreign minister since 2005.
Israel imposed a blockade on Gaza in 2006 after militants there kidnapped Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, and tightened it a year later when Hamas seized power in the territory.
It partly lifted that blockade last summer. Alliot-Marie called on Israel to fully apply the terms of that partial lifting and also to facilitate a wider range of exports from the territory.
Alliot-Marie also visited the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial, and met briefly with the parents of Shalit, who has French citizenship and who has been held in Gaza since his kidnap.
Turning to Iran, Alliot-Marie said France "would not accept that the Iranian regime destabilizes the Middle East" and would be "intractable with those who threaten the existence of Israel."
She also said France, which is one of the world powers negotiating with Iran over its atomic program, would "not allow it to obtain nuclear arms."
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=352969
Alliance for supporting Palestine and Jerusalem launched in Istanbul
ISTANBUL, (PIC)-- The International Alliance for supporting Palestine and Jerusalem has ended its preparatory conference in Istanbul city where around 350 participants attended, calling for the continuous support of Palestine and Palestinians in their quest for liberation.
The conference also rejected the Israeli oppression against the Palestinian people, and opposed the Israeli practices in the occupied city of Jerusalem that aim at judaizing it, urging the Palestinian people to continue resisting such practices and oppression.
In addition, the meeting hailed the Turkish government and the Turkish people for their support for the Palestinian cause and efforts to break the unjust siege on the Gaza Strip that had been imposed by the Israeli occupation government since 2006.
The conference also sent a message to the Arab and Muslim leaders reminding them of their promises to rebuild the Gaza Strip and to rescind the siege on it, saying that the money pledged by the Arab leaders to rebuild the devastated Strip must be remitted immediately to start the rebuilding process.
The conference also welcomed efforts of human rights organizations and charitable groups around the globe for their persistent efforts to help the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip, and to expose the Israeli racism against the Palestinian people, highlighting that the Palestinian people in occupied Jerusalem must be supported by all means to enhance their steadfastness and resoluteness in the face of the Israeli attempts to drive them out of their homes.
Furthermore, the conference underlined that Israeli war criminals must not escape prosecution for their crimes against humanity in the Gaza Strip, calling on the PA leadership in Ramallah to stop the futile negotiations with the Israeli occupation, and to halt security coordination with them, and to work, instead, for restoring the Palestinian unity and national reconciliation.
http://bit.ly/g9xnJn 7 jan 2012, 21:24 , Respect -
Maria 23 jan 2011
Israel builds new road connecting settlements in east with west J'lem
OCCUPIED JERUSALEM, (PIC)-- The Israeli building and planning committee in occupied Jerusalem approved a plan to establish a new road connecting the settlements of Pisgat Ze'ev and Neve Yaakov with road 443 in order to directly link these northeastern settlements with the western part of Jerusalem.
Activist in settlement affairs Ahmed Sablaban said Sunday that according to this plan, Israel will annex about 85 dunums of Palestinian lands in Beit Hanina which are located in the vicinity of the area prepared for the establishment of the new road.
The activist noted that green open spaces and isles will be established along the road, adding that this settlement project is already under way.
http://bit.ly/i0GfG0
New Jewish neighborhood to be erected in occupied Golan Heights
NAZARETH, (PIC)-- A Jewish settler organization announced it will erect a new neighborhood in Golan Heights, Syria occupied by Israel.
The project will expand the Katzerin settlement built on the ruins of the Syrian village of Qesrein, and will include parks and schools as well as a military preparatory center for students in pre-military service and a community center. The price of an 180 sq. meter building there will cost as much as NIS 980,000.
The Afek Hegolan settlement organization said its activities are not limited to Golan Heights, but it also holds different activities throughout occupied Palestinian areas.
Israeli finance minister Yuval Steinits had passed a decision granting Katzerin NIS 8.5m to build a research center expected to be built by the end of 2011.
http://bit.ly/gCDvl9
Obama urged not to veto anti-Israeli draft
A general view of the Israeli settlement of Nof Zion, near al-Quds January 12, 2011
Former high-ranking US officials have called on President Barack Obama to avoid vetoing a UN Security Council resolution condemning Israel's illegal settlements in the West Bank.
The officials, including a former US secretary of defense, a number of former assistant secretaries of state and ambassadors, wrote a letter to Obama, asking him to instruct US envoys to the world body to "vote yes" on the resolution, Ha'aretz reported on Saturday.
"The time has come for a clear signal from the United States to the parties and to the broader international community that the United States can and will approach the conflict with the objectivity, consistency and respect for international law required if it is to play a constructive role in the conflict's resolution," the letter urged.
The signatories said they were well aware that the Security Council resolution would not resolve the issue of settlements, but said the council was "an appropriate venue for addressing these issues."
They also reminded Obama of his 2009 speech in Cairo where he said the US does not accept the legitimacy of continued Israeli settlements and urged Israel to stop its construction activity.
"If the proposed resolution is consistent with existing and established US policies, then deploying a veto would severely undermine US credibility and interests, placing us firmly outside of the international consensus, and further diminishing our ability to mediate this conflict," the officials warned.
The draft resolution -- which has nearly 120 co-sponsors from among Arab and other non-aligned nations -- is not likely to be put to a vote in the 15-nation council in the near future due to a possible US veto.
The draft says that "Israeli settlements established in the Palestinian territory occupied since 1967, including East [al-Quds] Jerusalem, are illegal and constitute a major obstacle to the achievement of a just, lasting, and comprehensive peace."
Israel's persistent construction in the occupied West Bank is seen as the main bone of contention between Israel and the Palestinian Authority and is blamed for derailing several rounds of talks between the two sides.
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/161479.html and http://bit.ly/hg79yL 7 jan 2012, 21:24 , Respect -
Maria 24 jan 2011
Israel plans to build 58,000 settler homes in OJ
GAZA, (PIC)-- Gaza's religious affairs ministry expressed concern over a project to build 58,000 Jewish settler homes in occupied Jerusalem by 2020.
Meanwhile, Israel is announcing Jerusalem as the capital for Jewish people and allocating funds to attract Jews in a project dubbed Jerusalem 2020, the ministry said in a statement Monday.
The construction is aimed at pushing out Jerusalem's Arab population and making it a holy city for the Jews, the ministry added.
Settlement funds purchased two weeks earlier the Shepherd hotel under an illegal absentee property law and planned to build in its place a Jewish settlement. The property was owned by late Palestinian Mufti Amin al-Husseini.
The city's planning board discussed last week passing a plan to build the largest beyond the Green Line project to date, that will include construction of 1,400 new residential units.
The same committee had also suggested a project annexing 85 dunums of land from the northeastern Beit Hanina community.
The plan is to build a road bridging the Pesgat Zeev and Navi Yakoub settlements to ease movement from and to the western part of the city.
Religious affairs minister Talib Abu Sha'ar said it is one of the most important larger settlement projects to ease movement between Jerusalem, Tel Aviv and northeastern Jerusalem at the expense of Palestinian land and thoroughfares which have decayed after years of Judaization policies
http://bit.ly/e7oVv2
High Court criticizes State over razing stalling tactics
Supreme Court President Judge Dorit Beinish
'Priorities are the magic word but they are never set into motion,' says Judge Beinish during hearing on illegal construction in Beit El settlement.
Supreme Court president harshly criticises State: During a heated hearing over the State's conduct in connection with the illegal construction of five buildings in Beit El, Supreme Court President Dorit Beinish said Monday that "priorities are the magic word. Priorities have never been set into motion. Where are these much spoken of priorities?"
At the end of the hearing, High Court judges ruled that the State must put a stop to the construction of the five illegal buildings and ensure that they aren't inhabited. The judges instructed the settlers to stop all construction on any land classified as private property.
During the hearing, Judges Beinish, Hanan Meltzer and Edna Arbel leveled harsh criticism against the State. Beinish told the State representative: "You say you intend to demolish, but you do nothing."
Judge Meltzer also reprimanded the State representative: "You constantly speak of priorities; perhaps you don't have enough enforcement capabilities such as manpower and funds. You need to tackle the issues.
"When there aren't enough enforcement capabilities it seems that it's enough to demolish one house a year. You issue warrants but no one takes any notice. Not even you. You keep using the word priorities %u2013 that is unacceptable and it isn't an answer. Give an accurate account."
Judge Beinish continued the attack against the State: "We issued interim injunctions, they were violated. Allowing construction to continue negates what you are saying. The main problem in my opinion is that this is private land."
Judge Meltzer
Judge Meltzer then responded to Beit El local council claims that no one has the authority to demolish the houses: "Do you have the authority to connect these houses to the infrastructure? Are you responsible for the infrastructure? It doesn't just fall from the sky."
Attorney Shlomi Zecharia, who together with attorney Michael Sfarad, Avishar Lev and Muhammad Shakier filed the appeal on behalf of the Yesh Din organization at the end of the hearing said: "The Supreme Court today signaled to the enforcement elements that it will no longer accept their willful ignorance and the ongoing failures caused by lack of enforcement.
"This is actually the first time where the state has been given the active duty of enforcing injunctions it issued to begin with. The court has once again stressed the importance of safeguarding private Palestinian land which is exposed time and again to negative actions."
This isn't the first time that Judge Beinish addressed the issue of the State's priorities on settlement issues. In September, she criticized the State's proceedings during a hearing held over a petition filed by Yesh Din, which demanded that structures near the settlement of Beit El be demolished.
"We discuss many such cases, yet despite the State's declarations regarding its priorities, the orders are not being implemented in any of the cases. There are no priorities because nothing is being done," Beinish said at the time.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4018198,00.html 7 jan 2012, 21:25 , Respect -
Maria 25 jan 2011
Israeli official: The PA waived whole neighborhoods in J'lem for the Jews
OCCUPIED JERUSALEM, (PIC)-- A source close to the Israeli premier mocked the Palestinian authority (PA) for insisting on its settlement freeze demands as a precondition for the resumption of peace talks while it had already waived whole Palestinian neighborhoods in occupied Jerusalem for the Jews.
Haaretz newspaper on Tuesday quoted the source as saying that what was published by Al-Jazeera was true.
The source added that the PA negotiators gave up entire neighborhoods in the holy city, so their persistent settlement freeze demands are ridiculous.
For his part, head of the Israeli government coalition Zeev Elkin, also said that Al-Jazeera documents did not reveal anything new and the PA negotiators expressed before their intentions to give up Jerusalemite neighborhood.
http://bit.ly/gd4VO8 7 jan 2012, 21:25 , Respect -
Maria 29 jan 2011
Lafta residents outraged at plan transforming hundreds of dunums of land
OCCUPIED JERUSALEM, (PIC)-- Local councils are expressing total objection to a new Israeli construction plan that will change the historical character of the west Jerusalem village of Lafta.
Under Plan 6036, Israel will erect new homes for Jewish settlers and tourist sites, including nightclubs, restaurants, and gambling halls over 455 dunums of the village's land.
Palestinian antiquities, homes, mosques, springs, and graves located along the Lafta's borders will be leveled during construction.
Locals meeting at Lafta association headquarters in Ramallah condemned the plan, calling on UNESCO and other organizations to intervene and protect the area's Palestinian heritage.
http://bit.ly/fpcd7i 7 jan 2012, 21:25 , Respect -
Maria 1 febr 2011
Settlement expert: Israel sold 1400 housing units in OJ, WB in 2010
OCCUPIED JERUSALEM, (PIC)-- The Israeli occupation authority sold around 1400 settlement units to Jews in occupied Jerusalem and the West Bank in 2010, Qais Yousef Nasser, a settlement expert, said on Monday.
He added in a statement that most of those units were sold in Mod'in, Har Homa, Ma'aleh Adumim, Beitar Elit, and Givat Ze'ev settlements.
Nasser, a lawyer by profession, warned that the Israeli housing ministry was planning to build and market about 5000 new housing units in occupied Jerusalem and the West Bank other than the construction of 3300 other units in occupied Jerusalem settlements.
The Palestinian minister of endowments and religious affairs in Gaza, Dr. Taleb Abu Shaar, drew the attention to the seriousness of the Israeli construction streak in occupied Jerusalem.
He added in a press release on Monday that the "cancerous" spread of settlement activity in the holy city constituted a real provocation for the entire Arab and Islamic nations.
The minister called for supporting Jerusalem and its inhabitants financially and morally in face of such growing Judaization threats.
http://bit.ly/g9StrN