Category: Palestinian Territories

Netanyahu pledges to promote ‘responsible policies’ at Trump meeting

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday he would present “responsible policies” in talks with U.S. President Donald Trump, signaling to the Israeli far-right to curb its territorial demands in the occupied West Bank. Netanyahu leaves for Washington on Monday and will see Trump at the White House on Wednesday for their first meeting since the Republican’s inauguration last month, with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and policy toward Iran on the agenda.

UN chief defends choice of PA leader as Libya envoy

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Saturday defended his choice of former Palestinian Authority leader Salam Fayyad to be the UN peace envoy to Libya, after the United States blocked the appointment. Guterres nominated Fayyad to the post on Wednesday and the Security Council had been expected to approve his appointment without objections.

Ambassador Haley opposed Palestinian UN appointment; Sweden calls pick ‘excellent’

The United States’ decision to try to block the appointment of a former Palestinian prime minister to lead the United Nations political mission in Libya was not supported Saturday by Sweden. U.S. Ambassador Nikki Haley said Friday that the Trump administration was “disappointed” to see that U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres had sent a letter to the Security Council indicating his intention to appoint Salam Fayyad as the next U.N. special representative to Libya.

US opposes Palestinian’s appointment to top UN post

The Trump administration opposed the appointment of a senior Palestinian leader for a top United Nations post Friday over concern that the move would boost the Palestinian cause at the world body. UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres sent a letter to the Ukraine ambassador, who serves as president of the Security Council, informing the council of his intention to appoint former Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad to be his special representative for Libya, according a copy of the letter shown to CNN.

Israeli Paper: Trump Says Settlements Don’t Advance Peace

An Israeli newspaper is quoting President Donald Trump as saying that settlement expansion in land claimed by the Palestinians does not benefit peace. The remarks came in a Trump interview with Yisrael Hayom, a pro-Benjamin Netanyahu paper, just days before the Israeli prime minister is to visit the White House.

Canada says very worried by Israel’s move to legalise settlements

Canada is very concerned by Israel’s move to legalise thousands of settler homes on Palestinian land in the occupied West Bank, Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland said on Wednesday. The Liberal government of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, which took power in late 2015, is more prepared to criticise Israel than the former Conservative administration, which adopted a resolutely pro-Israel policy.

Qatar Strongly Condemns Israeli Settlement Law In Palestinian Territories

Qatar strongly condemned Israel’s approval to build thousands of new settlement units in the occupied Palestinian territories, including Jerusalem, Qatar News Agency reported. In a statement Wednesday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that the Israeli Knesset’s adoption of settlement legislation law is a flagrant violation of international resolutions and a blatant attack on the right of the Palestinian people.

Israeli leader presses UK to impose new sanctions on Iran

In this Sunday, Jan. 22, 2017, file photo, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends the weekly cabinet meeting in Jerusalem. Israel’s prime minister is moving ahead with a contentious law that would legalize dozens of settlement outposts in the West Bank, despite questions about the bill’s legality and a warning from the White House that settlement construction “may not be helpful.”

Israel pushes measure to make outposts legal

Israel is moving toward a vote on a bill intended to legalize dozens of settlement outposts in the West Bank, despite claims by experts that the bill is illegal and a warning from the White House that settlement construction “may not be helpful.” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is under intense pressure from members of his coalition to bring the bill to a vote, which has been scheduled to take place today in parliament.

Jeremy Corbyn calls on the PM to stand up for rights of Palestinian people

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who is to visit 10 Downing Street on Monday for talks with Theresa May Jeremy Corbyn has called on Theresa May to stand up for the rights of the Palestinian people when she meets Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday. The Labour leader said that it was “simply not good enough” for Mrs May to say that Israeli settlement building on occupied Palestinian land undermined trust in the Middle East peace process.

Move the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem, and do it soon

With Donald Trump in the White House, speculation is mounting: Does he intend to act on his pre-election promise, dating back to January 2016 and reaffirmed both before and since his election, that he will transfer the U.S. embassy in Tel Aviv to Israel’s capital, Jerusalem, in accordance with standard diplomatic practice and the 1995 Jerusalem Embassy Act? A plethora of pieces have argued against the move. For example, Talia Sasson’s Op-Ed in these pages, “Move the U.S. embassy at Israel’s peril,” argued against moving the embassy on the novel basis, among others, that “Never have the Palestinians given up Jerusalem as their capital.”

Israel Can’t Avoid the Settlement Talk Anymore

In his inimitable fashion, U.S. President Donald Trump has succeeded in beginning a national conversation about immigration. It is not the nuanced, cerebral discussion about the value of migrants versus the danger of terrorists that Americans need to have, but despite — or perhaps because of — the horribly amateurish rollout of his immigration executive order, the U.S. is at least beginning to talk.

U.S. tells Israel that West Bank settlements ‘may not be helpful’ to achieving peace

The White House on Thursday gently warned Israel that new or expanded settlements in the West Bank “may not be helpful” in achieving a Middle East peace, while insisting it has no “official position on settlement activity.” A statement issued by press secretary Sean Spicer said that although the administration does not believe settlements are “an impediment to peace, the construction of new settlements or the expansion of existing settlements beyond their current borders may not be helpful in achieving that goal.”

Hurling guilt on top of rocks, Amona protesters target police’s hearts and minds

The night before police began clearing out the Amona outpost, protest organizers told the hundreds of religious teenage boys and girls who had made their way to the hilltop outpost to make the evacuation “as difficult as possible, as long as possible.” The protesters obliged, and the pushback against the evacuation operation – codenamed “Gan Na’ul,” or “Locked Garden” – was as much emotional as it was physical.

Jewish settlers set tires ablaze at the Amona outpost, northeast of Ramallah, on Wednesday.

Hours after Israel approved 3,000 new settlement homes in the West Bank, Israeli security forces moved to evacuate settlers from an illegal outpost there, sparking scuffles. There’s been a clear uptick in the rate of settlement approval since Donald Trump was sworn in as U.S. president less than two weeks ago – and Trump is expected to be supportive of settlement expansion.

In Israel, It’s Build, Build, Build

Israel approved 3,000 more housing units in the occupied West Bank late Tuesday, the largest number in a wave of new construction plans that defy the international community and that open a forceful phase in the country’s expansion into land the Palestinians claim for a future state. Emboldened by the new Trump administration and internal battles at home, Israel announced plans for the new units in about a dozen settlements a week after approving 2,500 homes in the West Bank and 566 in East Jerusalem.

Palestinian President Abbas arrives in Dhaka

A red carpet was rolled out as Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas arrived in Dhaka today on a three-day official visit at the invitation of his Bangladesh counterpart Abdul Hamid. President Hamid received the Palestinian President near the VVIP Tarmac of Hazarat Shahjalal International Airport amid a 21-gun salute, while President Hamid’s two grandson and granddaughter – Namira and Jim – presented him a bouquet.

Israeli troops kill Palestinian in West Bank: medics

Palestinian protesters burn tires during clashes with Israeli security forces following a weekly demonstration against the expropriation of Palestinian land by Israel in the village of Kfar Qaddum, near Nablus, in the occupied West Bank on January 27, 2017. / AFP / JAAFAR ASHTIYEH

New report reveals top Israeli official living in illegal colonial settlement

An Israeli Finance Minister, who is in charge of implementing a law to demolish Palestinian homes in the West Bank, is himself living in an unlicensed building in an illegal colonial settlement on Occupied Palestinian land – and he is just one of many Israeli officials living in illegal settlements, according to a new report. The report, released Wednesday by the Palestine Liberation Organization, documented a number of top Israeli officials, many of whom are tasked with displacing Palestinians or demolishing their homes, living on illegally seized Palestinian land.

Israel moves quickly to take advantage of Trump support

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during the weekly cabinet meeting at the PM’s office in Jerusalem, on December 27, 2015 Israel has moved immediately to take advantage of US President Donald Trump’s pledges of support, announcing a major settlement expansion that deeply concerns those hoping to salvage a two-state solution with the Palestinians. Since Trump’s inauguration last week, Israel has approved some 3,000 settler homes in the occupied West Bank and in annexed east Jerusalem, signalling a sharp change of pace from such projects during the Barack Obama years.

Trump administration reviews foreign aid in Obama’s final months in office

A Palestinian man reads by the beach as fishermen cast their nets off the shore in Gaza City on Jan. 24. The State Department is conducting a review of all foreign aid parceled out in the final two months of the Obama administration, including the controversial last-minute release of $220 million to Palestinians announced just hours before Donald Trump was sworn in as president. The review involves dozens, if not hundreds, of foreign aid allocations made after Trump was elected.

Understanding what Israel did and didn’t do

Israel announced a bold plan on Tuesday to construct 2,500 housing units in Jewish settlements in the West Bank, a decision made by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu just two days after he spoke with President Trump. a For eight years, Netanyahu and his right-wing allies bristled at the harsh condemnations of settlement growth by the Obama administration, which referred to the Israeli communities as “illegitimate” and “an obstacle to peace.”

Israel announces plans for 2,500 new settlement homes

Israel announced plans on Tuesday for 2,500 more settlement homes in the occupied West Bank, the second such declaration since U.S. President Donald Trump took office signalling he could be more accommodating towards such projects than his predecessor. A statement from the Israeli Defence Ministry, which administers lands Israel captured in a 1967 war, said the decision was meant to fulfil demand for new housing “to maintain regular daily life”.

Emboldened by Trump, Israel Rapidly Expands Illegal Settlements

“The Trump administration is giving Israel the green light to entrench a separate and unequal one-state reality with more illegal settlements.” Emboldened by the new right-wing Trump administration, Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu approved a large settlement expansion-2,500 housing units-in the West Bank on Tuesday.

Emboldened by Trump, Israel Rapidly Expands Illegal Settlements

“The Trump administration is giving Israel the green light to entrench a separate and unequal one-state reality with more illegal settlements.” Emboldened by the new right-wing Trump administration, Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu approved a large settlement expansion-2,500 housing units-in the West Bank on Tuesday.

The Latest: Palestinians condemn Israeli settlement plans

The Latest on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, after Israel announced the construction of 2,500 new settler homes in the West Bank : A spokesman for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas says the Israeli plans announced Tuesday deal a new blow to attempts to bring peace to the region and will promote extremism and terrorism. Nabil Abu Rdeneh says the decision “disregards” international opposition to the settlements and is calling on the international community to take a “real and serious position” against Israel.