Israeli-Palestinian peace talks resume By AMY TEIBEL, Associated Press Writer DEC 12,07
JERUSALEM - The first formal peace talks between Israelis and Palestinians in seven years got off to a rocky start Wednesday, with the Palestinians lambasting Israel for a new construction project planned in disputed east Jerusalem and Israel accusing the Palestinians of creating a tense atmosphere.The Palestinians have said the planned construction in the Har Homa neighborhood, along with Israeli military activity in the Gaza Strip, have threatened to undermine the new peace talks.The Palestinian delegation introduced the issue of Har Homa and expressed our outrage, said negotiator Saeb Erekat.We are coming to negotiate over Jerusalem and borders, and the dictation and facts on the ground continue, he added. If you want to restore the credibility of the peace process, the Israeli government must revoke this order. He said there were no immediate plans to meet again.
Wednesday's meeting was the first formal negotiating session since Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas relaunched peace making at last month's Mideast conference in Annapolis, Maryland. The last peace talks broke down in violence in January 2001.At the gathering, the two leaders set an ambitious target of December 2008 for concluding a peace agreement that would end six decades of conflict.The troubles at Wednesday's meeting, which lasted just 90 minutes at a Jerusalem hotel, showed just how far the sides have to go.Initially scheduled to kick off with a ceremonial launch at the ornate King David hotel, the talks were held secretly at another hotel in the city. Negotiators sped away from the meeting without commenting to reporters who discover the location of the talks after they had begun.Conflicting claims to Jerusalem are just one of the thorny issues they will have to resolve in the coming year.The Palestinians seek east Jerusalem, which Israel captured in the 1967 Mideast War, as the capital of a future independent state. Israel considers all of the city its capital, though Olmert has signaled he would be willing to relinquish outlying Arab neighborhoods.
Other core issues negotiators must tackle include the final borders of a Palestinian state, the future of Jewish settlements in the West Bank and the fate of millions of Palestinian refugees whose families lost properties during Israel's 1948 War of Independence.The Hamas militant group's violent seizure of the Gaza Strip last June has further complicated matters. Abbas' lack of control over Gaza has raised questions about his ability to carry out any future peace deal.Discussing Wednesday's talks, an Israeli official confirmed the Palestinians complained about Har Homa, Jewish settlement construction in the West Bank and Israeli military activity in Gaza.We really wanted to see it as a procedural meeting in good spirit ... They created a tense atmosphere, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the meeting with the media.The official said Israel complained about ongoing Palestinian rocket fire from the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip. Early Wednesday, Palestinian militants fired 16 homemade rockets toward Israel, causing minor damage and lightly wounding one woman, Israeli officials said.The barrage came hours after Israeli forces ended a broad incursion into the coastal strip that killed six militants and left a wide swath of damage in its wake.Israel is pursuing peace with Abbas' moderate government in the West Bank. At the same time, it continues to battle the Hamas militant group, which has ruled Gaza since defeating Abbas' forces last June.
Israel regularly carries out brief ground incursions and airstrikes in Gaza in a bid to stop Palestinian rocket and mortar attacks on southern Israeli towns. The Islamic Jihad militant group said it fired nine of the rockets to avenge Israel's incursion. The resistance is going to escalate the operations targeting the Zionist colonies in the coming hours, said Abu Ahmad, a spokesman for the group. Later Wednesday, an Islamic Jihad militant was killed while firing a mortar in central Gaza. The group said the man was killed by Israeli fire, but the Israeli army said it was not in the vicinity. Tuesday's operation, in which tanks and bulldozers pushed 1.5 kilometers (2.5 miles) into southern Gaza, was the broadest push since the Hamas takeover. Early Wednesday, the troops had withdrawn to a buffer zone along the Israeli border. The Israeli forces left behind heavy damage to al-Fukhari, a farming community near the southern town of Khan Younis. About 75 acres (30 hectares )of olive trees and orange groves were uprooted, greenhouses and the outer walls of homes were damaged, and homes were left without power, said Ouda Alomar, mayor of the community. Repair crews were trying to restore electricity and reopen roads that were closed with dirt mounds put up by the troops, he said. Olmert convened his security Cabinet, a group of top political and defense officials, to discuss the Gaza situation. Officials decided to continue the police of brief incursions into Gaza, but decided against launching a broad invasion of the area. One Cabinet member,speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the media, said officials are concerned that a broad invasion would cause heavy casualties to Israeli troops and damage the prospects for peace talks.
Key events in Mideast peace efforts By The Associated Press Tue Dec 11, 1:24 PM ET
Some key events in Israeli-Palestinian peace efforts:
• Oct. 30, 1991: Israel and Arab nations join world powers at Madrid Conference, first time all sit down at same table for peace talks.
• Sept. 13, 1993: Israel and Palestinians sign first interim peace accord at White House.
• May 4, 1994: Agreement turning control of Jericho and Gaza over to Palestinians.
• Sept. 25, 1995: Interim accord turning control of additional West Bank towns and villages over to Palestinian Authority.
• Sept. 4, 1999: Sharm el-Sheik memorandum on implementing previous accords, signed by Israel, Palestinians, Egypt and Jordan and witnessed by U.S.
• July 2000: President Clinton hosts summit with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat seeking to finalize peace deal. Summit fails, violence erupts.
• March 2002: Arab League approves Saudi Arabian initiative offering peace to Israel in return for withdrawal from all lands captured in 1967 war and just solution for Palestinian refugees.
• June 2003: President Bush presents internationally backed road map plan for creating Palestinian state in three stages by 2005. Plan stalls in first phase.
• September 2005: Israeli dismantles 21 settlements in Gaza Strip and withdraws from territory. Four settlements in West Bank also dismantled.
• January 2006: Militant Hamas wins Palestinian elections and sets up government, replacing more moderate Fatah. Western powers cut off aid and Israel withholds tax revenues.
• June 2007: Hamas fighters overrun Gaza, expelling Fatah forces.
• Nov. 27, 2007: President Bush sponsors Mideast summit where Israeli and Palestinian leaders agree to resume formal peace negotiations Dec. 12, aiming for accord by end of 2008.
IMF: Palestinian reform plan doable By KARIN LAUB, Associated Press Writer Tue Dec 11, 4:17 AM ET
RAMALLAH, West Bank - The International Monetary Fund has come out in support of a Palestinian plan for economic reform and recovery that would require about $5.6 billion in foreign aid over three years. The Palestinian proposal is ambitious, but also achievable, the IMF wrote in a report obtained by The Associated Press on Monday, ahead of next week's meeting of donor countries in Paris where the Palestinians will formally request the money.The IMF's support, including praise for the Palestinian government's prudent fiscal policy, could go a long way toward persuading donors to pledge more money. The aid request — unprecedented at nearly twice the annual level — also comes at a time of renewed hopes for Mideast peace, after seven years of fighting.The Palestinian economy was hit hard by seven years of Israeli-Palestinian fighting, accompanied by stifling Israeli restrictions on travel and trade. About three-quarters of households in Gaza and 56 percent in the West Bank live in poverty.
Later this week, Israelis and Palestinians are to resume peace talks, in line with promises made at the recent Mideast conference in Annapolis, Md. However, talks are overshadowed by a new crisis over Israel's decision to expand a Jerusalem neighborhood built on war-won land and claimed by the Palestinians.Efforts to revive the Palestinian economy and build the institutions of a future state are to run parallel to the negotiations. As part of its presentation to the donors, the Palestinian government in the West Bank has prepared a three-year plan of economic reform and good governance.Under the Palestinian development plan, the international community would be asked to provide about $5.6 million over three years, Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad said after a meeting with EU foreign ministers in Brussels Monday. Of the sum, about 70 percent would go for budget support and the rest to development programs.In exchange for requesting such large sums, the government promises to cut spending, mainly by keeping a lid on the bloated public payroll and cutting hundreds of millions of dollars in electricity and fuel subsidies.Commenting on the plan, the IMF report said that the contemplated fiscal adjustment is ambitious, but also achievable.
For the plan to work, Israel must relax its restrictions on movement and trade in the Palestinian territories, the IMF report said. Such restrictions, first imposed after the outbreak of the second Palestinian uprising in 2000, are seen as a major obstacle to economic recovery.Donor assistance will also need to be scaled up, both to finance the recurrent budget deficit (an average of $1.3 billion a year over 2008-2010) and for the public investment program (an average of $550 million a year), the IMF report said.
The report said the Palestinians, Israel and the donors will have to cooperate closely. The IMF said going forward poses some risks for all three, but that failure to do so would push the Palestinian economy into a further downward spiral.In Brussels, EU External Relations Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner said in a joint news conference with Fayyad that the EU, which gave $1.4 billion to the Palestinians in 2007, would remain generous.But she stressed that the EU wants to see burden-sharing from many, many other countries, including Arab states. In a reference to Israel, she also said that more, much more needs to be done to improve the possibilities of movement and access in the Palestinian territories.
EU urges Israel to stick to peace commitments By David Brunnstrom Mon Dec 10, 7:35 AM ET
BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Union joined the United States on Monday in expressing concern about new Israeli settlement activity and urged Israel to stick to its commitments in Middle East peace efforts. I am very concerned, EU External Relations Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner told reporters when asked about Israel's plan to build 300 homes and other units on land captured in the 1967 Middle East war.In a rare criticism of Israel, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice warned on Friday that the plan threatened a new U.S.-backed effort to reach peace between Israelis and Palestinians, launched last month at a conference in Annapolis.We want to have a successful peace process, Ferrero-Waldner said after meeting Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad in Brussels. The political process will have to be underpinned with progress on the ground.She said Israel should ease restrictions on access and movement for Palestinians and added: May I ... call on the Israeli government indeed to abide by all of its commitments being made before and at Annapolis and also to avoid any action that might put the process of building confidence on both sides into question.Ferrero-Waldner said the European Union joined the United States and the United Nations in seeking an explanation for the move to issue building permits for the construction of the houses in Har Homa in the Jerusalem area.I look forward to hearing the reactions of the Israeli authorities, she said.
Under obligations contained in the 2003 roadmap framework for Middle East peace, Israel must cease settlement activity on occupied land.But Israel has said it does not consider the site, known as Abu Ghneim by Palestinians, as part of the West Bank territory the Palestinians want for a state.Post-Annapolis peace talks are due to begin on Wednesday.Fayyad said continued settlement activity was inconsistent with commitments made in Annapolis and said lifting of movement restrictions and an ending to the blockade of the Gaza Strip were essential for economic progress.He praised the European Union's steadfast support for the Palestinians and said the Palestinian Authority would seek a total $5.6 billion assistance at a donors' conference next week in Paris to finance an economic development plan for 2008-10.Ferrero-Waldner said the European Union, the largest aid donor to the Palestinians, would maintain a high level of commitment. She declined to provide a figure.(Editing by Janet Lawrence)
SINCE THE RAPTURE OCCURS BEFORE THE FUTURE 7 YR TREATY IS SIGNED, I WONT BE AROUND TO HAVE THE ACTUAL TREATY SIGNING. BUT UNTIL THEN THIS SITE IS DEDICATED TO THE BEGININGS OF THE ISRAELI / ARAB PEACE PROCESS. AND AS CLOSE TO THE 7 YEAR SIGNING THAT WE GET BEFORE THE RAPTURE OF THE SAVED TO HEAVEN. UNTIL WE MEET JESUS IN THE CLOUDS BODILY, AND COME TO EARTH 7 YRS LATER.
IMPORTANT LINKS
- 2-STRONG MAN BEHIND THE SPIRIT.
- 2024 PREDICTIONS FOR CANADA
- ABORTION IS MURDER OF A WHOLE GENERATION.
- BAN VACCINES, MASKS PETITION.
- BIRD MIGRATION IN ISRAEL.
- DESTINY OF NATIONS.
- ELIJAH & MOSES PREACH 3 1/2 YEARS.
- EUS MIDEAST PEACE PLAN.
- FROM NEBUCHADNEZZAR TO TODAY.
- HOLY TEMPLE MYTH 1
- HOLY TEMPLE MYTH 2
- HOLY TEMPLE MYTH 3
- I ASKED AI LEADER QUESTIONS.
- ISRAEL 500 MILLION BIRDS IN HULA VALLEY.
- ISRAEL 500 MILLION MIGRATING BIRDS
- ISRAEL AND EUS HISTORY TO END OF TRIBULATION.
- ISRAEL CITIES LIVE CAM
- ISRAEL DEFEATS ALL ENEMIES.
- ISRAEL LIVE CAM MIGRATING BIRD
- ISRAEL LIVE CAM WESTERN WALL.
- ISRAEL RADIO
- ISRAEL WESTERN WALL LIVE CAM 2
- ISRAEL-JERUSALEM TOGETHER FOREVER.
- ISRAEL365 NEWS
- JERUSALEM POST NEWS
- JEWISH FEAST - HOLY - HOLIDAY FEASTS.
- KILLER COVID STARTED IN 1965
- LATEST MUSLIM SCAM REDERS DIGEST
- MARK LEVIN (TRUTH)
- MY 12 YR GAY FLAG BAN IN OS
- MY END TIME SCENARIO
- MY EVENTS IN TIME SITE
- MY MOHAWK AND HORSE PREDICTIONS
- MY NHL HOCKEY SITE STATS
- MY TWITTER SITE
- MY YOUTUBE SITE
- NEW WORLD OR STORY BY ME STAN
- SO CALLED MRNA SHOTS ARE GENE THERAPY
- THE GATEWAY PUNDIT
- THE LAST GENERATION.
- THE SHROUD OF TURIN.
- THE TIMES OF ISRAEL NEWSFEED
- WAR IN HEAVEN REV 12
- WERE 300 M MUSLIMS TO BE BURIED.
- WHOS LAND IS IT? (1)
- WHOS LAND IS IT? (2)
- WHOS LAND IS IT? (3)
- WHOS LAND IS IT? (4)
- WHOS LAND IS IT? (5)
- WHOS LAND IS IT? (6)
- WOKE CULTURE IS MAOISM
- WW3 THE WAVES.