Israel has said it will release 20 Palestinian women from detention in return for proof that captured soldier Gilad Shalit is still alive. A statement from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said it was waiting to receive video taken recently by his militant captors in Gaza.
Posts Tagged ‘Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’
Netanyahu, Abbas say talks hinge on moves by other
September 24th, 2009 |
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Israeli and Palestinian leaders demanded the other shift positions that risk thwarting Pres. Barack Obama’s demand that the two sides resume peace talks soon. In media interviews at the United Nations in New York, where they met Obama Tuesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas must end his refusal to recognize Israel explicitly as a Jewish state and Abbas said Israel must discuss dividing control of Jerusalem.
“No agreement” in Mid-East talks
September 19th, 2009 |
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U.S. envoy George Mitchell’s latest round of shuttle diplomacy in the Middle East has ended without agreement, U.S. and Palestinian officials say. Mitchell met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem in a fresh attempt at getting a deal on Jewish settlement activity.
U.S. envoy meets Israeli PM again to discuss settlements
September 16th, 2009 |
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A U.S. envoy has ended a second day of talks with Israel’s PM without securing Israel’s agreement to freeze settlement building in disputed areas. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office described his meeting with U.S. envoy George Mitchell in Jerusalem Wednesday as “good.” It says the two plan to meet again on Friday, after Mitchell returns from visits to Arab states.
Madonna’s Israel tour panned by Palestinians
September 5th, 2009 |
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Madonna’s pilgrimage tour to Israel has attracted the wrath of Palestinians, who slammed the Material Girl for consistently ignoring Palestinian suffering.
Sky News quoted one Palestinian youth worker as saying that Madonna “tries to place herself as a global role model, but consistently ignores Palestinian suffering”.
Hania Bitar even suggested that Madonna could make up for her [...]
Israel condemned over evictions
August 2nd, 2009 |
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The US has led international condemnation of Israel after it evicted nine Palestinian families living in two houses in occupied East Jerusalem.
Washington said the action was not in keeping with Israel’s obligations under the so-called "road map" to resolve the Israel-Palestinian conflict.
Jewish settlers moved into the houses almost immediately.
Israel occupied East Jerusalem in 1967 and later annexed it, a move not recognised by the world community.
The removal of the 53 people was also condemned by the United Nations, the Palestinians and the UK government.
Senior Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erakat said he was outraged at the action.
"Israel is once again showing its utter failure to respect international law," he said.
"New settlers from abroad are accommodating themselves and their belongings in the Palestinian houses and 19 newly homeless children will have nowhere to sleep."
‘Deplorable’
The operation to evict the Palestinians from the Sheikh Jarrah district of the city was carried out before dawn on Sunday by police clad in black riot gear.
It followed a ruling by Israel’s Supreme Court that Jewish families owned the land. Israel wants to build a block of 20 apartments in the area.
"I deplore today’s totally unacceptable actions by Israel," the UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, Robert H Serry said.
"These actions are contrary to the provisions of the Geneva Conventions related to occupied territory.
"These actions heighten tensions and undermine international efforts to create conditions for fruitful negotiations to achieve peace."
The UK government said the Israeli action was "incompatible with the Israeli professed desire for peace".
"We urge Israel not to allow the extremists to set the agenda," the British Consulate in East Jerusalem said.
Sovereignty ‘unquestionable’
Israel considers a united Jerusalem to be the capital of the state of Israel.
"Our sovereignty over it is unquestionable," Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said last month.
"We cannot accept the idea that Jews will not have the right to live and buy [homes] anywhere in Jerusalem."
The BBC’s Tim Franks in Jerusalem says the houses are in what is probably the most contested city on earth and the diplomatic ripples from the evictions will spread.
There are an estimated 250,000 Palestinians living in East Jerusalem and 200,000 Jews. </p
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
Palestinians evicted in Jerusalem
August 2nd, 2009 |
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Israeli police have evicted nine Palestinian families living in two houses in occupied East Jerusalem.
Jewish settlers moved into the houses almost immediately. The US has urged Israel to abandon plans for a building project in the area.
Israel has occupied East Jerusalem since 1967, a move not recognised by the international community.
The evictions have been condemned by the United Nations, the Palestinians and also the UK government.
‘Deplorable’
The operation to evict the 53 Palestinians in the Sheikh Jarrah district of the city was carried out before dawn on Sunday by police clad in black riot gear.
It followed a ruling by Israel’s Supreme Court that the land originally belonged to Jewish families. Israel wants to build a block of 20 apartments in the area.
The evictions were quickly condemned by the United Nations.
"I deplore today’s totally unacceptable actions by Israel," the UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, Robert H Serry said. "These actions are contrary to the provisions of the Geneva Conventions related to occupied territory.
"These actions heighten tensions and undermine international efforts to create conditions for fruitful negotiations to achieve peace," Mr Perry said.
Palestinian negotiator Saed Erakat said: "Tonight, while these new settlers from abroad will be accommodating themselves and their belongings in these Palestinian houses, 19 newly homeless children will have nowhere to sleep."
Sovereignty ‘unquestionable’
Israel considers a united Jerusalem to be the capital of the state of Israel.
"Our sovereignty over it is unquestionable," Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said last month.
"We cannot accept the idea that Jews will not have the right to live and buy [homes] anywhere in Jerusalem."
The BBC’s Tim Franks in Jerusalem says the houses are in what is probably the most contested city on earth and the diplomatic ripples from the evictions will spread.
The UK joined in the condemnation of the evictions. "These actions are incompatible with the Israeli professed desire for peace," the British Consulate in East Jerusalem said. "We urge Israel not to allow the extremists to set the agenda."
There are an estimated 250,000 Palestinians living in East Jerusalem and 200,000 Jews. </p
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
Israel on Iran: Anything it takes to stop nukes
July 28th, 2009 |
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JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel hardened its insistence Monday that it would do anything it felt necessary to stop Iran from getting a nuclear bomb, just the ultimatum the United States hoped not to hear as it tried to nudge Iran to the bargaining table.
U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates reassured Israel that the new Obama [...]
US urges Iran reply by September
July 27th, 2009 |
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The US Middle East envoy, George Mitchell, is due to meet Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak to discuss the stalled Middle East peace process.
He arrived in Cairo a day early at Mr Mubarak’s request, following talks in Syria and Israel.
In Tel Aviv, Mr Mitchell reassured Israeli officials of Washington’s unshakeable commitment to its security.
Relations had soured after US President Barack Obama demanded a halt to all Israeli settlement on Palestinian land.
In Damascus, Mr Mitchell met Syrian President Bashar Assad for what he called "very candid and positive" discussions on restarting peace talks between Syria and Israel, which have been stalled since 2000.
Following talks with the Egyptian president, Mr Mitchell is due to meet Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas on Monday and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday.
Diplomatic push
The visits are part of a week-long high-level diplomatic push by Washington to re-start peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians which have been frozen for six months.
US MID-EAST PEACE TEAM- Special envoy to the Middle East George Mitchell
- Defence Secretary Robert Gates
- National Security Advisor James Jones
- Envoy to the Gulf states Dennis Ross
Palestinian leaders have refused to meet their Israeli counterparts until illegal settlement activity has stopped.
Other senior US officials are also due to visit the region this week.
US defence secretary Robert Gates, National Security Advisor James Jones and US envoy to the Gulf states, Dennis Ross, are due in the region for talks.
Mr Gates will first meet his Israeli counterpart in Jerusalem before travelling to Jordan for discussions with King Abdullah.
Iran and its nuclear programme are expected to be on the agenda in talks with Israel.
Are you in the region Can the push for Middle East peace work You can send us your views using the form below:
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This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
US envoy in Mid-East peace push
July 26th, 2009 |
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The US has launched a new drive to kick-start Middle East peace talks, with visits to Israel, Syria and Egypt by special envoy George Mitchell.
In Damascus, Mr Mitchell met Syria’s President Bashar Assad for what the envoy called candid and positive talks.
Mr Mitchell later flew to Tel Aviv for talks with Israeli defence minister Ehud Barack and then made an unscheduled trip to Egypt.
More senior US officials are due to visit the region this week.
The heightened activity comes at a time of strained relations between the US and Israel.
The BBC’s Middle East correspondent Katya Adler says the visits are part of a week-long high level diplomatic push by Washington to re-start peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians which have been frozen for six months.
Talks in Syria
Mr Mitchell’s visit to Damascus was his second since June.
Speaking after meeting President Assad, the envoy said restarting peace talks between Syria and Israel – stalled since 2000 – was a "near-term goal".
He said he had told the Syrian leader that US President Barack Obama was "determined to facilitate a truly comprehensive Arab-Israeli peace".
"If we are to succeed, we will need Arabs and Israelis alike to work with us to bring about comprehensive peace. We will welcome the full co-operation of the government of the Syrian Arab Republic in this historic endeavour," he said.
The BBC’s Lina Sinjab, in Damascus, says President Obama’s commitment to talks with all parties is welcomed in Syria but not with much enthusiasm.
Getting back the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights is a priority in Damascus, our correspondent says.
The Heights are a strategic mountainous area seized by Israel in 1967.
Syria’s official news agency quoted President Assad as stressing to Mr Mitchell "the Arab right to recover occupied lands through achieving a just and comprehensive peace."
Direct talks between Israel and Syria broke down nine years ago over the scale of a potential Israeli pull-back on the Golan Heights.
‘Vital interests’
Mr Mitchell later arrived in Tel Aviv where he held talks with Israel’s defence minister.
Afterwards he described the differences with Israel as "discussions among friends… not disputes among adversaries".
"We are ready to take whatever reasonable effort to make it [the peace process] happen"
Ehud Barak
Israeli defence minister
Ehud Barak promised the full co-operation of his government in the search for peace.
"We are ready to take whatever reasonable effort to make it [the peace process] happen," he said.
"Of course we bear in mind our vital interests but we understand the needs of the other partners as well and we clearly need the leadership of the United States – as well as your experience and wisdom – in the attempt to achieve it.".
Relations between the US and Israel have been strained, largely due to differences over the future of Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank and occupied East Jerusalem.
Washington says continued Israeli construction in the Palestinian territories threatens to undermine future peace talks.
Palestinians say there will be no new talks until the construction stops.
Israel says some expansion must be allowed to accommodate the "natural growth" of settler families.
Mr Mitchell also made an unscheduled trip to Egypt late on Sunday.
A spokesman for the US embassy in Tel Aviv said the trip to Cairo came at the request of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.
It was not immediately clear why Mr Mubarak asked the envoy to bring forward his visit, which was originally scheduled for Tuesday.
Mr Mitchell is also due to meet Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas on Monday and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday.
As well as Mr Mitchell, US defence secretary Robert Gates and National Security Advisor James Jones are due in the region for talks.
Mr Gates will first meet his Israeli counterpart in Jerusalem before travelling to Jordan for discussions with King Abdullah.
Iran and its nuclear programme are expected to be on the agenda in talks with Israel.</p
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
Britain ‘should approach Hamas’
July 26th, 2009 |
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In pictures: Gaza six months on
The UK government has come under rising pressure from MPs to start making contact with Palestinian group Hamas.
A Foreign Affairs Committee report also said it was "regrettable" UK-supplied military items were "almost certainly" used by Israel in the Gaza conflict.
The cross-party group, which monitors foreign policy, called on the EU to make relations with Israel conditional on its peace-making efforts.
Hamas was also criticised for its use of rockets on Israeli civilian targets.
‘Ineffective strategy’
But committee chairman Michael Gapes said the committee saw "few signs that the current policy of non-engagement with Hamas" was effective.
He added that the government "should urgently consider engaging with moderate elements within Hamas" as it had with the political wing of Hezbollah in Lebanon earlier this year.
The wide-ranging report condemns Israel for the continuing growth of settlements and for its blockades around the Hamas-controlled Gaza strip.
It was unacceptable, said Mr Gapes, to deny unrestricted access for humanitarian assistance.
And the report also called for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office to declare whether it considered war crimes had been committed during the December 2008 to January 2009 conflict in Gaza and southern Israel.
Hamas came into criticism for its rocket attacks, but MPs concluded that Israel’s military action in Gaza was "disproportionate".
Who are Hamas
Mr Gapes said: "Rocket fire from Gaza by Hamas and other Palestinian groups on civilian targets in Israel is unacceptable.
"It generates the risk of a renewed escalation in violence, and constitutes a central obstacle in the way of Israeli willingness to move forward towards a two-state settlement."
The report welcomed the endorsement by the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of a two-state solution to the conflict.
The committee added that the split between Hamas in Gaza and the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank was a central obstacle to creating a united and democratic Palestinian state, and called for elections that could be accepted by all parties.
Former prime minister Tony Blair, who is now a Middle East peace envoy, was commended for "making an important contribution to Palestinian economic and institutional development".
But movement, access and administrative restrictions on the West Bank continued to represent a "major obstacle to further Palestinian economic development," it added.
Hamas takes its name from the Arabic initials for the Islamic Resistance Movement.
Designated a terrorist organisation by Israel, the US and the EU, it is seen by its supporters as a legitimate fighting force defending Palestinians from a brutal military occupation. </p
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
East Jerusalem Settlements: Mike Huckabee Joins The Fray, Will Broadcast From Disputed Site
July 21st, 2009 |
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The dispute over a highly controversial East Jerusalem Israeli settlement project on Arab land came to a head Tuesday when direct, public statements from France and Russia joined statements made by the United States demanding that all construc…
Israel settlers burn olive trees
July 21st, 2009 |
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Ten people have been arrested during a series of disturbances caused by Jewish settlers in the West Bank after Israeli authorities removed an illegal caravan.
Two Palestinians were taken to hospital after settlers threw stones at cars and tried to block a road near Nablus in the northern West Bank on Monday night.
Settlers also set fire to a Palestinian olive grove in the area.
The caravan was part of an "outpost", a settlement illegal under Israeli law, which Israel has agreed to remove.
Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank are illegal under international law.
Israeli outposters vow to stay Settler vineyards take root
Right-leaning Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is under US pressure to halt all settlement building and carry out previous Israeli pledges to remove the outposts.
But the settlers, many of whom say they have a God-given right to live in the West Bank, have threatened to impose what they call a "price tag" on such evacuations.
The Human Rights Group Yesh Din said this can include attacking Palestinians and their property "to create a price for each evacuation, causing Israeli authorities to think twice about carrying them out".
Police did not give details of the incidents in which the 10 arrests were made, but said they were from a series of "disturbances" across the West Bank.
At least 280,000 Jews live in settlements (with a further 180,000 living in East Jerusalem), established in the occupied West Bank with Israeli government backing, in contravention of international law.
Israeli activist groups say there are, in addition, about 100 unauthorised outposts in the West Bank, where Palestinians want to locate their future state.
On Tuesday, the Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported that Israeli forces were drafting a plan to remove 23 such outposts in one day.</p
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
Israeli PM defiant on Jerusalem
July 19th, 2009 |
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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has rejected a reported US request that a building project in Jerusalem be halted.
The project involves building 20 apartments in the mainly Arab East Jerusalem area, which was captured by Israel in 1967.
Last week US officials told the Israeli ambassador that the project should be suspended, Israeli media said.
But Mr Netanyahu rejected this in comments at his weekly Cabinet meeting.
"We cannot accept the idea that Jews will not have the right to live and buy (homes) anywhere in Jerusalem," he said.
"Unified Jerusalem is the capital of the Jewish people and the state of Israel. Our sovereignty over it is unquestionable."
Israel has occupied East Jerusalem since 1967. It has annexed the city and declared its east and west Israel’s eternal capital.
"This undermines the efforts being exerted to revive the peace process"
Saeb Erekat,
Palestinian negotiator
This is not recognised by the international community, with the east of the city considered occupied territory.
Palestinians hope to establish their capital in East Jerusalem, as part of a two-state peace deal with the Israelis.
They say Israel uses settlement and demolition orders to try to force them from the area.
‘No credibility’
The project in question concerns a block of 20 apartments in the Sheikh Jarrah district of the city.
Israeli officials said the US State Department summoned Ambassador Michael Oren last week and told him that the construction should not go ahead.
There was no immediate comment from the US.
But Israel has come under pressure from the Obama administration to freeze settlement activity on land that Palestinians want for a future state.
Palestinians say peace talks cannot proceed until settlement activity halts.
A senior Palestinian negotiator, Saeb Erekat, said Mr Netanyahu’s comments had further undermined efforts to re-start the peace process.
The decision to pursue this project, he said, reflected Israel’s defiance of international calls for a halt to settlement activity.
"This undermines the efforts being exerted to revive the peace process and this undermines the credibility of those involved in making the peace process continue," he said.
About 268,000 Palestinians live in East Jerusalem, alongside 200,000 Israeli Jews.</p
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
Israel FM queries Abbas authority
July 13th, 2009 |
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Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman has questioned the authority of Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas in an escalating Israeli-Palestinian war of words.
Mr Lieberman said Mr Abbas "was not exactly legitimate" and was therefore in no position to make demands on the Israeli leadership.
A day earlier Mr Abbas had called him a bad choice as Israeli foreign minister.
The two sides have been unable to agree terms for restarting peace talks since the Israel government came into office.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has been in power since 1 April, on Sunday urged Mr Abbas to restart peace talks immediately.
"There is no reason Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas and I should not meet, anywhere in this country, to advance the political process," Mr Netanyahu told the weekly meeting of his cabinet.
Mr Abbas has refused to meet Mr Netanyahu and on Sunday reiterated his stance in a radio interview that, for negotiations on the key issues to resume, there must be "a complete halt" to Israeli settlement activity in the occupied West Bank.
Separately in the Egyptian weekly, October, he said that Mr Netanyahu had backed himself into a corner on the Palestinian track, and he would face fierce opposition from Mr Lieberman if he tried to emerge from it.
Mr Abbas said things would be better if the former Israeli foreign minister, Tzipi Livni, had been reappointed instead of the current incumbent.
‘Blessing’
The outspoken Mr Lieberman said he took such comments from Mr Abbas, also known as Abu Mazen, as a "blessing".
"As Abu Mazen’s authority or legitimacy deteriorates or declines, he raises his demands and toughens his position.
"There are no middle-ground solutions for the settlement issue: either settlement activity stops or it doesn’t"
Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat
"Abu Mazen isn’t exactly legitimate, hence neither is his new demand, or suggestion, to replace Lieberman with Tzipi Livni," he said in an interview on Israel radio.
"I see such advice as a blessing. His demand to cease settlement construction is nothing more than an expression of his distress and incompetence."
He said that with Gaza under control of the Hamas militant group, Mr Abbas represented "at best, half of the nation".
Also on Sunday, Mr Netanyahu insisted the Palestinians "must finally abandon" the right of return for Palestinian refugees since 1948, which if realised would facilitate the arrival of millions of displaced Arabs to areas that currently have an Israeli Jewish majority.
He reiterated demands for Palestinians to explicitly recognise Israel as a Jewish state, calling this "the key to peace."
The Palestinians say it is tantamount to legitimising their own displacement in past wars with Israel.
They have also rejected any potential deal between Israel and its main backer, the US, to allow limited Jewish settlement activity in the occupied West Bank.
"There are no middle-ground solutions for the settlement issue: either settlement activity stops or it doesn’t," negotiator Saeb Erekat told Voice of Palestine radio.
Some 500,000 Israelis live in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, areas captured by Israel in 1967. Israel wants to be able to keep building within existing communities there, although all such work is illegal under international law.
"If settlement continues, Israel will be allowed to build 1,000 units here and 2,000 units there, which will lead Arabs and Palestinians to believe the US administration is incapable of swaying Israel to halt its settlement activities," Mr Erekat said.
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
Netanyahu Invites Abbas To Talk Peace
July 12th, 2009 |
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JERUSALEM — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday invited the Palestinians to sit down immediately to talk peace, but the Palestinian leader maintained his demand that first Israel must halt all West Bank settlement constru…