Mideast quartet, G8 call on Israel to freeze settlements JUNE 26,09
TRIESTE, Italy (AFP) – Pressure grew on Israel Friday to take concrete steps for peace as both the diplomatic quartet and the Group of Eight called for the Jewish state to halt West Bank settlements.We are urging Israeli authorities to stop settlements including natural (demographic) growth,UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told a news conference.This will be the first beginning to make sure all our proposals are implemented,he said.The quartet -- the European Union, Russia, the United States and the United Nations -- met in the northeastern Italian city of Trieste to try to jumpstart the Israeli-Palestinian peace process.Just hours earlier the Group of Eight leading world powers, also meeting in Trieste, made the same appeal, calling on both parties to fulfill their obligations under the roadmap, including a freeze on settlement activity.The international community considers the settlements in the occupied West Bank and east Jerusalem, which Israel seized in the 1967 Six Day war, to be illegal.The Palestinians have said they will not meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu until Israel halts all settlement activity.
But while Netanyahu has vowed not to build new settlements, he insists on allowing for natural growth within existing settlements.The Israeli leader for the first time earlier this month endorsed the two-state solution to the Middle East conflict, which is the cornerstone of international Middle East peacemaking efforts for years.In recent weeks the United States, Italy and France have all called for a settlement freeze.Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, who attended both talks in Trieste, said:We want to achieve full-fledged resumption of direct negotiations between the parties themselves on all tracks.Tony Blair, the quartet's Middle East envoy, called for major change on the West Bank... transformative progress beyond the easing of access and movement for Palestinians in the occupied territory.What is necessary at the same time as we make a big push politically for the two-states solution is that that push... is supported by what is happening on the ground,the former British prime minister said.The quartet's declaration also called for an unequivocal end to violence and terrorism,calling on the Palestinian Authority to continue to make every effort to improve law and order and to fight violent extremism.Ban, noting the change of government in both Israel and the United States this year, said:We are trying very hard to seize on the very favorable political atmosphere following US President Barack Obama's Cairo speech, which he described as "quite a historic and powerful statement.Obama, who has made relaunching the Middle East peace process a priority since taking office in January, bluntly called for Israel to halt settlement activity while urging Arabs to move closer to making peace with Israel in the speech on June 4.
Blair, noting that investment in West Bank development has already produced positive results, urged a parallel strategy for Gaza said You can never separate the politics and the security and the economics -- they go together.Ban said Middle East peace sponsors were looking for meaningful signs of progress in the coming few months and reiterated the quartet's support for an international peace conference to be held in Moscow this year.
U.S. hopes to start Mideast talks soon: envoy Fri Jun 26, 10:12 am ET
TRIESTE, Italy (Reuters) – U.S. envoy George Mitchell said Friday that the United States hoped Israelis and Palestinians would soon begin meaningful and productive peace negotiations.We believe we are making progress in these efforts and we hope very much to conclude this phase of the discussions and to be able to move into meaningful and productive negotiations in the near future,Mitchell told a news conference.Mitchell was speaking after a meeting in Italy of the Quartet of Middle East peace negotiators which includes the United Nations, European Union, United States and Russia.It was its first formal meeting since U.S. President Barack Obama took office in January.(Reporting by Phil Stewart; Editing by Adrian Croft)
Israel plays down reports of imminent Gaza deal By Alastair Macdonald and Adam Entous - Fri Jun 26, 7:19 am ET
JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Israeli officials played down reports on Friday that a deal was close with Hamas that would include the release of an Israeli soldier held captive in the Gaza Strip in exchange for Palestinians held in Israeli jails.Israeli and Palestinian political sources and Western diplomats confirmed, however, that Egyptian mediators were still working on a package of measures that could combine exchanges of prisoners, ceasefire agreements, an easing of Israel's blockade on Gaza and rapprochement between rival Palestinian factions.A July 7 deadline set by Egypt for Islamist Hamas and the Fatah faction of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to ease a schism that has divided Gaza from the West Bank, as well as this week's third anniversary of Hamas's capture of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, has fueled speculation of a deal.Responding to Israeli press reports citing European diplomats that Shalit was about to be sent to Egypt, Israeli officials and European diplomats in the region said on Friday they knew of no new concrete developments in negotiations.Hamas officials have also played down earlier reports.Nonetheless, diplomats said negotiations were in train.The family of Shalit, who also has French citizenship, has stepped up pressure on new Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to reach a deal. The government has long baulked at Hamas's price for Shalit's release, notably the freeing of leading Hamas militants responsible for attacks on Israelis.Netanyahu is also under pressure from the United States and its European allies to ease a blockade on Hamas-ruled Gaza that has prevented billions of dollars in foreign reconstruction aid from reaching the enclave since Israel's offensive in January.Israel, which is also under U.S. pressure to renew peace talks with Abbas, has tied the blockade to the fate of Shalit.An Israeli government official said Netanyahu wanted the international community to pressure Hamas, not Israel: Hamas has held Gilad Shalit for some three years. He hasn't even been given one visit by a representative of the Red Cross.The international community should be pushing for his release and should be pushing for such a visit.
PACKAGE DEALS
Hamas, which seized control of Gaza two years ago in fighting with Fatah-led forces, is keen to bolster its support among the 1.5 million Gazans by improving supplies.
Aziz Dweik, the speaker of the Hamas-dominated Palestinian parliament elected in 2006, told Reuters on Thursday, two days after he was released himself from an Israeli prison:The Egyptians are behind the package deal which is expected to speak about the truce, to speak about opening all the crossings to (the) Gaza Strip and to speak about Shalit.We would like (it) to be accomplished in the very few coming days because I left ... almost 11,000 prisoners in Israeli jails,Dweik added, speaking in English.During a European tour this week that included talks with French President Nicolas Sarkozy which touched on the Shalit case, Netanyahu said on Tuesday: We are making efforts on various levels. We are now testing various possibilities.One possibility, cited by an Israeli political source, was that a step-by-step deal could begin with Hamas moving Shalit to Egypt, where he would stay with access to his family. Israel, in turn, would begin to open Gaza's border crossings. The two sides would then hammer out a final agreement on Hamas prisoners.
The possible complexity of any deal is daunting, however: Israel wants Shalit back and an end to threats from Hamas, which has peppered southern Israel with rockets from Gaza; Hamas wants hundreds of its own prisoners released, both by Israel and by Abbas's Palestinian Authority in the West Bank, as well as promises from Israel not to renew attacks on Gaza; Abbas wants Fatah prisoners released in Gaza and an accord that will restore his authority in the Hamas-run enclave.(Additional reporting by Mohammed Assadi in Hebron and Ari Rabinovitch in Jerusalem)
Lebanon rivals discuss shaping new government Fri Jun 26, 6:16 am ET
BEIRUT (AFP) – The leader of the Western-backed alliance that won this month's Lebanese parliamentary election, Saad Hariri, has held talks with his defeated rival, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, on the makeup of a new government, an aide said on Friday.The discussions focussed on the political situation ... following the elections,the two men said in a joint statement following the Thursday night meeting.
They discussed different options for a new government and agreed to continue their talks.They hailed the calm and diplomatic atmosphere reigning in the country and underlined the importance of dialogue, cooperation and dialogue.The meeting was Hariri's first with Nasrallah since October.The aide declined for security reasons to say where it was held. Nasrallah has been Israel's most wanted man since the devastating 2006 war his Shiite militants fought with the Jewish state.Hezbollah and its allies want a continuation of the government of national unity formed last year after deadly clashes between the rival blocs brought Lebanon to the brink of a new civil war.But Hariri's majority bloc insists it will only accept a unity government if the Hezbollah alliance surrenders the veto powers it enjoys in the outgoing cabinet.Later on Friday, President Michel Sleiman is due to begin consultations with the rival blocs before naming a new prime minister.The premiership could go to Hariri four years after the assassination of his father Rafiq, a five-time premier, in a Beirut bombing that propelled him onto the political stage.In an interview with AFP on Thursday, Hezbollah number two Naim Kassem declined to say whether the movement would support Hariri's nomination.
Hamas leader welcomes Obama's new Mideast approach By ALBERT AJI, Associated Press Writer – Thu Jun 25, 4:50 pm ET
DAMASCUS, Syria – The top Hamas leader on Thursday welcomed what he said is new language by President Barack Obama toward the Islamic militant group — part of Hamas' cautious outreach to Washington in recent weeks.In a televised speech, Hamas chief Khaled Mashaal avoided any mention of the recent turmoil in Iran, even though the Islamic militant group is backed by the Tehran regime.Earlier Thursday, Iran's hardline president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, accused Obama of meddling because of growing U.S. criticism of Iran's clampdown on opposition protesters. Iran's other militant ally, the Lebanese Hezbollah group, has sided with Iran's ruling clerics.Hamas has been trying to reach out to the Obama administration in hopes of breaking out of its international isolation and prying open the borders of blockaded Hamas-ruled Gaza.The U.S. and Europe consider Hamas a terror group and have said they will only engage if Hamas recognizes Israel and renounces violence. Hamas has rejected those conditions, saying it cannot make such concessions up front.In a speech to the Muslim world earlier this month, Obama insisted that Hamas meet the conditions, but also suggested the group could play a political role in the future.Hamas does have support among some Palestinians, but they also have to recognize they have responsibilities,Obama said at the time.To play a role in fulfilling Palestinian aspirations, to unify the Palestinian people, Hamas must put an end to violence, recognize past agreements, recognize Israel's right to exist.Mashaal on Thursday praised what he described as Obama's new language towards Hamas.It is the first step in the right direction toward a dialogue without conditions, and we welcome this,he said.
However, he said the U.S. must respect the Palestinians' democratic choice; Hamas overwhelmingly won Palestinian parliament elections in 2006.The Hamas chief-in-exile also said Obama remains too sympathetic toward Israel, despite the president's pledge to work hard for the establishment of a Palestinian state.Obama spoke widely about the suffering of Jews and their Holocaust in Europe but ignored the talk about our suffering and Israel's Holocaust that has been going on for decades against our people,he said.Mashaal also railed against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who said in a recent speech that Israel would retain sovereignty over all of Jerusalem, keep building in Jewish settlements and demand Palestinians recognize Israel's right to exist as a Jewish state.The enemy's leaders call for a so-called Jewish state is a racist demand that is no different from calls by Italian Fascists and Hitler's Nazism, Mashaal said.Mashaal said his group will keep working on a prisoner exchange with Israel to win the release of hundreds of Palestinians in return for Israeli soldier Gilad Schalit, who was captured three years ago near Gaza.
So far, the Israeli intransigence has stopped all efforts but we are still ready to reach a prisoner exchange, Mashaal said.Netanyahu's only choice to get back Schalit is a serious deal.Mashaal called on Obama to pull out Lt. Gen. Keith Dayton, the U.S. security coordinator in the region, who is supervising the training of Palestinian forces in the West Bank.Hamas overran Gaza two years ago, leaving Western-backed Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas only in control of the West Bank. Abbas has been clamping down on Hamas in the West Bank since the Gaza takeover, and some 2,100 U.S.-trained Palestinian forces play a key role in that effort. Mashaal said Dayton's force is the main obstacle to the success of Palestinian reconciliation talks that are being sponsored by Egypt.Mashaal said a Hamas delegation will be flying to Egypt to take part in Sunday's talks with representatives of Abbas' Fatah movement. Associated Press Writer Hadeel al-Shalchi contributed to this report from Cairo.
Israeli Leader Avigdor Lieberman Criticizes U.S. on Iran By TIM MCGIRK AND ROMESH RATNESAR / JERUSALEM – Thu Jun 25, 3:20 pm ET
For a man who has a reputation for being blunt and confrontational, Avigdor Lieberman has kept uncharacteristically silent since taking over in March as Israel's Foreign Minister. His boss, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, had reportedly asked him to muzzle his hawkish views for fear of riling the Obama Administration. But in his first major interview, which he gave to TIME, the burly Foreign Minister, who says he shrugs off political correctness,came out swinging. He lambasted the West for not giving more support to Iranian reformists. This really fanatic extremist regime is still in power, and the young people who are ready to fight and die for change are not getting any real support from the West,he said.The fact that this regime continues to be an acceptable partner for dialogue is really a bad message. It shows the bad guys are winners.Lieberman also criticized the Obama Administration for demanding that Israel halt construction in Jewish settlements inside the Palestinian territories, saying it is a mistake.He added,We are trying to formulate some understanding with the U.S. We don't speak [with the Americans] of building new settlements. We don't speak of expansion. We try to build only within existing construction lines.In quiet but forceful tones, Lieberman said,We cannot suffocate our own people. You know, babies are born. People get married. We cannot stop life. People want to build a synagogue or a kindergarten.Lieberman also claimed that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict was part of a broader clash of values between civilizations,and that it was not the key for bringing peace to the Middle East, as many believe.With 9/11 and terrorist acts in London, Madrid, Bali, in Russia, I can't see any linkage with the Israeli-Palestinian problem,the Moldava native told TIME, speaking in Russian-accented English.He said that Israel is ready to start talks without preconditions with Arab leaders, despite an earlier remark he made before taking over as Foreign Minister that Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak could go to hell.He told TIME,Even today, I'm ready to start talks with any country in our region. We agree with President Obama's approach to a regional settlement of historical disputes. I'm ready to take a jet to Damascus to meet President Bashir al-Assad.(Read When Bibi Met Barack: Tough Talk on Middle East Peace.)
Lieberman said he is also willing to talk openly with the Palestinians. So far, he said, the Palestinian leadership has failed to contact the Israelis after Netanyahu reversed his earlier opposition to a Palestinian state and said in a major foreign policy speech earlier this month that he now advocates a two-state solution. Lieberman said that previous peace efforts floundered because it's impossible to impose peace, only to create it.And for that, he said,We must start with practical issues, like getting rid of roadblocks and illegal outposts [inside the Palestinian territories]. You must understand that we used to have 41 roadblocks and now only have 16 roadblocks.But a U.N. agency disputes Lieberman's count, saying there are 69 roadblocks in the West Bank manned by Israeli security services and another 521 unmanned roadblocks restricting Palestinians' travel.Before taking over as Israel's foreign policy point person, Lieberman earned the epithet racist among Palestinians and liberal Israelis for advocating that the borderline of a future Palestinian state be redrawn so that large Arab communities inside Israel would lose their citizenship and be carved out. It's a notion that many Israeli-Arabs resist, and they proclaim sarcastically that it's better to remain second-class citizens inside Israel, with its better schools and clinics, than join a Palestinian state that, judging by the current mayhem inside the territory, would be riddled with corruption and appalling services.Better an Israeli hell than a Palestinian paradise,is one popular saying.But Lieberman seems to have tempered his views, saying that today the transfer of populations is neither acceptable nor possible.He said that even if a Palestinian state were created, Arabs would still be welcome inside Israel, where they currently account for 18% of the population.Maybe some Arabs would prefer to go to a Palestinian state, but if some want to be Israeli citizens, that's their right,he said.Lieberman sees himself as an outsider in Israeli politics. He still marvels at the fact that he came to Israel as a 20-year-old immigrant - his first job was hauling luggage at Ben Gurion Airport - and now he's the country's Foreign Minister. It's a great land of opportunity,he said, smiling. In his spare time, he writes film screenplays. It's a hobby, he said, refusing to reveal the plot to his current work. This is something for the next stage in my life.Hollywood will have to wait.
Israel reduces control of 4 West Bank towns By ARON HELLER, Associated Press Writer – Thu Jun 25, 2:11 pm ET
JERUSALEM – Bowing to pressure from Washington, Israel granted U.S.-trained Palestinian security forces greater autonomy in four main West Bank towns, Israeli and Palestinian defense officials said Thursday.The ability of Palestinian security forces to maintain law and order is key to Mideast peacemaking because Israel needs to be convinced that a future Palestinian state won't threaten its security.Israel already has turned over limited security control to Palestinians in three other West Bank towns, but the military said that forces in Qalqiliya, Bethlehem, Jericho and Ramallah would be the first to operate around the clock without Israeli clearance.In a statement, the Israeli military said Palestinian security forces will be able to extend their hours of operation in the towns but emphasized that Israeli forces would continue to operate in the West Bank in order to thwart terrorist operations.
The move stops short of a full withdrawal from these towns.
The Israeli military doesn't routinely patrol West Bank towns and cities, but frequently conducts nighttime and occasional daytime arrest raids.Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad said the step does not go far enough.What is required a full cessation of military raids into Palestinian areas,he told reporters in Ramallah.
Israel pulled out of major West Bank population centers in the 1990s but re-entered them after the Palestinian uprising against Israel reignited in late 2000. Palestinians have long sought an Israeli pullback from those towns as a reassertion of sovereignty.The U.S. has been training thousands of forces in the West Bank in preparation for future Palestinian statehood. U.S. officials involved in the training have been pressing Israel to allow the Palestinian forces more freedom.The European Union has contributed about $55 million (40 million euros) for equipment and training, said Jose Vericat, an EU official.We are doing our job protecting our people and there is no need for Israeli forces to enter our territories under the pretext of security needs,said Adnan Dmeiri, a spokesman for the Palestinian security forces.Another apparent result of U.S. pressure has been the recent removal of some of the hundreds of Israeli roadblocks, including major obstacles near the city of Nablus and town of Jericho. Israel insists it needs the checkpoints to stop attackers but has also said it is committed to making life easier for Palestinians.Israel, however, has been wary of a complete handover to Palestinian security.During the Palestinian uprising, some Palestinian forces turned their guns against Israeli targets. And police loyal to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, were unable to hold back the onslaught of Islamic Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip in 2007. Abbas now only controls the West Bank, while Gaza remains under Hamas control.Exiled Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal called on President Barack Obama to withdraw his advisers from the West Bank. Speaking in Damascus, Syria, Mashaal said,Building an oppressive authority over the heads of our people strongly contradicts with the principle of democracy you are calling for,an apparent reference to the Fatah-led security forces.
Also Thursday, an Israeli soldier captured by Palestinian militants marked his third anniversary in captivity in Gaza, with no news on his plight.Sgt. Gilad Schalit, 22, was captured on June 25, 2006, by Hamas-affiliated militants who tunneled under the Gaza-Israel border and attacked a military post. Two other soldiers were killed.
Schalit has not been seen since and the Red Cross has not been allowed to visit him, though Hamas has released two recorded statements from him and exchanged letters between him and his family. Hamas has demanded the release of hundreds of prisoners, including people convicted in deadly attacks on Israelis, in exchange for the soldier.Israeli media reported again Thursday that the soldier would be transferred to Egypt soon as part of an exchange. Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor noted there have been several rumors in recent days. We will only know when he is released. Until then I can't comment,he said.Egyptian-mediated attempts to arrange a prisoner swap between Israel and Hamas have been unsuccessful. A Hamas spokesman, Osama Almuzeini, said Thursday that there were no new developments in the negotiations.He refused to confirm whether the soldier was alive or dead, saying Hamas would not give any information for free.
Israel marks third anniversary of soldier's capture by Patrick Moser – Thu Jun 25, 1:52 pm ET
JERUSALEM (AFP) – Israelis marked the third anniversary on Thursday of the capture by Hamas of soldier Gilad Shalit, as Human Rights Watch (HRW) called his continued detention cruel and inhumane.Family, friends and several thousand supporters gathered in front of the defence ministry in Tel Aviv on Thursday evening to call for his release.We are standing here tonight to be a mouth for Gilad, in order to express the plight of Gilad, who cannot speak and of course cannot shout from the hole in the ground where he has been for the past three years,said his father, Noam.He is asking only one thing from you, the decision makers -- his freedom,he told the crowd.The soldier's mother, Aviva Shalit, made an emotional plea to Israelis in an open letter published in newspapers.Please help us to get the current leadership to do what needs to be done and bring Gilad home ... I turn to you knowing that Gilad has become the son of an entire people,she wrote.Then a 19-year-old corporal, he was snatched by militants from Hamas and two smaller groups who had tunnelled out of Gaza on June 25, 2006, and attacked an army post, killing two other soldiers.Shalit, who has since been promoted to staff sergeant, is believed to be held somewhere inside the Gaza Strip, which has been run by Hamas since the Islamist movement seized power in the Palestinian enclave two years ago.The Haaretz newspaper reported that Israel recently received information via Egyptians involved in mediation with Hamas that Shalit is in reasonable health.Hamas authorities should immediately allow Sergeant Gilad Shalit of Israel to communicate with his family and to receive visits from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC),New York-based HRW said.Hamas?s prolonged incommunicado detention of Shalit is cruel and inhumane and may amount to torture,a statement said.
Punishing Shalit for grievances against Israel is unjust and unlawful,HRW said, adding that the laws of war prohibit cruel and inhuman treatment of persons in custody.The Israeli human rights group B'Tselem called for Shalit's release and also said he must be allowed family and ICRC visits.The circumstances of Shalit?s capture three years ago and the behaviour of his captors clearly indicate that he is legally a hostage. Hostage taking is absolutely prohibited under international humanitarian law,B'Tselem said.The east Jerusalem-based Arabic-language newspaper Al-Quds printed a B'Tselem advertisment calling for the soldier's immediate release, but the Gaza daily Palestine refused to run it, the group said.Israel and Hamas have held months of indirect talks through Egyptian mediators on a prisoner swap that would see hundreds of Palestinian detainees set free in exchange for Shalit, but no deal has been struck.
Hamas has rejected requests by the ICRC to visit Shalit.
HRW also said Israel has deprived Palestinian prisoners of family visits.An ICRC programme that allowed Gaza relatives to visit Palestinian prisoners held in Israel was suspended when Israel imposed a tight blockade on the coastal strip following Hamas's seizure of the territory in June 2007. The watchdog also said Israeli authorities have detained Hamas members without charge in the West Bank in arrests related to the Shalit case. It?s time for both Israel and Hamas to stop destroying lives and families by using the other side?s detainees as bargaining chips,said Sarah Leah Whitson, who heads HRW's Middle East section. Abu Mujahid, a spokesman for the Popular Resistance Committees, one of the groups that seized Shalit, insisted the soldier will not be released as long as the demands of the resistance are not met.In a statement on the Hamas website, Abu Mujahid said he had arranged his wedding for Thursday, to mark the anniversary of the historic day when Shalit was captured. Meanwhile, an opinion poll found that 69 percent of Jewish Israelis support the release, as part of a prisoner swap deal, of Palestinian prisoners who have been directly involved in violent attacks, one of the sticking points in the negotiations.
Netanyahu, French officials discuss peace efforts By STEVE WEIZMAN, Associated Press Writer – Thu Jun 25, 8:10 am ET
PARIS – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met France's prime minister and foreign minister Thursday, wrapping up a trip marked by differences with Washington and Paris over Jewish settlements.Netanyahu has been pressing his bid for a demilitarized Palestinian state in his meetings in Italy and Paris, and says the idea is gaining international ground.He held closed-door meetings Thursday with French Prime Minister Francois Fillon and Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner. Fillon's office provided no details of the discussions.Kouchner planned to remind (Netanyahu) of France's expectations concerning the peace process, which we want quickly restarted, according to a statement from Kouchner's office ahead of the meeting. Kouchner was heading later Thursday to a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Trieste, Italy, where Mideast tensions and Iran's postelection unrest were expected to be high on the agenda.Netanyahu had another meeting planned in Paris that fell through: He had planned to see the top U.S. Mideast envoy, but called it off in an apparent sign of growing friction over President Barack Obama's call for a halt to construction in Jewish settlements.The U.S. position could spell political trouble for Netanyahu, whose government depends on patrons of the settlers.A statement from Netanyahu's office said the meeting with George Mitchell, which had been scheduled to take place in Paris on Thursday, would be put off while Israeli Defense Minster Ehud Barak meets Mitchell in Washington next week and tries to bridge the gaps. An aide traveling with Netanyahu said Jewish settlements were one of the issues which needs to be worked on.
In talks with Netanyahu on Wednesday, French President Nicolas Sarkozy echoed Obama and insisted on a complete and immediate end to construction in Jewish settlements.
The French president, who defines himself as a friend of Israel but whose country has traditionally good relations with much of the Arab world, urged faster action toward creating a Palestinian state.Netanyahu leaves France on Thursday afternoon for Tel Aviv.
