Israeli minister to lay West Bank foundation stone
Sun Jul 18, 12:13 pm ET
JERUSALEM (AFP) – Israel's interior minister and deputy prime minister, Elie Yishai, is to lay the foundation stone of a new administrative centre for Jewish settlements in the West Bank, his office announced on Sunday.It said the ceremony would take place on Thursday, at a time when the international community has called on Israelis and Palestinians to abstain from any action which could hamper peace efforts.Yishai, head of the religious party Shas, a governing coalition member which supports settlements, is to take part in the ceremony in Meitarim, an industrial zone south of Hebron in the occupied West Bank.Under US pressure, Israel has imposed a 10-month moratorium on new construction in the West Bank that runs out on September 26. Annexed east Jerusalem, homes already under construction and public buildings are exempted.
Arabs want pledges as Netanyahu, Abbas visit Cairo
by Jailan Zayan – Sun Jul 18, 12:08 pm ET
CAIRO (AFP) – Arab League chief Amr Mussa said on Sunday the Palestinians could not resume direct talks with Israel without guarantees, as the Palestinian and Israeli leaders met separately with Egypt's president.Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who are taking part in US-brokered indirect talks, left the meetings with President Hosni Mubarak without making any statements.US Middle East envoy George Mitchell met with Mubarak earlier and then held talks with Mussa, who later told reporters the Palestinians could not move automatically from the indirect talks to face-to-face negotiations.We cannot automatically move from one negotiation to another without written guarantees,said Mussa.I felt the Palestinian president was committed to the decisions of the ministerial council that the automatic transition from indirect to direct negotiations is not feasible,he said about his meeting with Abbas on Saturday.The Arab League backed the indirect talks in March but supported their suspension after Israel said it would build more Jewish homes in annexed east Jerusalem.It backed the talks again in May after the Palestinians said they received unspecified guarantees, but said direct negotiations would come only after a complete end to settlement building in occupied Palestinian lands.Netanyahu had told reporters before flying to Cairo that he would discuss the prospects for direct talks with Mubarak.Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit said Mubarak told his visitors Israel had to take a strong, strategic move that would deepen the Palestinians' trust towards Israel's intentions, and consequently we could encourage a move to direct negotiations, Egypt's official MENA news agency reported.
The Palestinian leadership restated the conditions for the direct talks, suspended since Israel's offensive on Gaza in December 2008, after a meeting between the US envoy and Abbas in the West Bank town of Ramallah on Saturday.Senior Palestinian official Yasser Abed Rabbo called for greater clarity from Washington about its position on new negotiations, insisting the Palestinians wanted to address the core issues of the Middle East conflict.The three-hour meeting between Abbas and Mitchell was important but there are several issues, most important among them the settlements and the situation in Jerusalem, that need more clarity,Abed Rabbo told reporters.The Palestinians have demanded a complete freeze on Israeli settlement expansion ahead of direct talks and have accused Israel of undermining the process by approving new settler homes in mainly Arab east Jerusalem, which they want as the capital of their promised state.Earlier this month, during a visit to Washington by Netanyahu, Obama said he hoped to see direct talks begin before a partial Israeli moratorium on the expansion of Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank ends in September.In recent weeks, Abbas had appeared to back away from his previous demand for a full settlement freeze as a condition for opening direct talks, instead insisting on progress on the issue of borders and security.In an interview published on Saturday, he said he would meet Netanyahu if Israel agreed in principle to a Palestinian state based on the borders before Israel's occupation of the West Bank during the 1967 war, with equal land swaps and the presence of an international security force.Israel must accept that the Palestinian territory in question be that of the 1967 borders and with the presence of a third party,he told Jordan's Al-Ghad newspaper, referring to Gaza and the West Bank, including east Jerusalem.This will push us to embark on direct negotiations,Abbas said.In an indication of the domestic pressure facing Abbas, his own Fatah party on Thursday told him not to join direct talks with Israel without showing progress in the indirect talks.
Top EU diplomat calls for further lifting of Gaza siege
Sat Jul 17, 2:59 pm ET
RAMALLAH, Palestinian Territories (AFP) – The European Union's top diplomat on Saturday called for the further easing of Israel's blockade of the Gaza Strip on the eve of a visit to the Hamas-ruled territory.We've made it clear that we want to see the potential for the people of Gaza to live an ordinary life, EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton told reporters in the West Bank town of Ramallah.There needs to be an opening of the crossings for both people and goods to flow in both directions,she said at a joint news conference with Palestinian prime minister Salam Fayyad, ahead of her Gaza visit.Israel has taken steps to ease its four-year blockade of the territory in the wake of a deadly May 31 raid on a Gaza-bound aid fleet and now says it allows the import of everything except weapons and dual-use items.It has also begun allowing the import of building materials such as wood and cement for projects under international supervision.But the limited opening has drawn criticism from the Palestinians and rights groups because it does not include an easing of the movement of people or allow for exports.What we all are looking for is to end the suffering of our people in Gaza by lifting the siege and... by having a policy of openness that is clearly defined,Fayyad told reporters.What we have today is 75 percent less (volume of traffic) that what we had in the first half of 2007... That's not what we are looking for,he said.The economy of Gaza cannot be sustained only by importation, there needs to be exports.Israel has said its naval blockade is necessary to prevent the Islamist Hamas movement ruling Gaza -- which is pledged to its destruction -- from shipping in military-grade weapons and longe-range rockets.
Ashton said she was open to sending European Union monitors to the crossings but that they would have to work alongside the Western-backed Palestinian Authority, which Hamas ousted in June 2007.We are willing to engage in work at the crossings if there is a clear role for the European Union to play, and of course working with the Palestinian Authority, she said.At the moment that is not something that is on the table.Ashton was to head to Gaza for a few hours on Sunday before returning to Israel to meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other top officials.
Settlement issue holding up Middle East talks
by Nasser Abu Bakr – Sat Jul 17, 11:21 am ET
RAMALLAH, Palestinian Territories (AFP) – The Palestinian leadership said Saturday it wants clarity regarding the US position on Israeli settlements and Jerusalem before moving to direct peace talks.Until now there is no clarity in the (US) position on a number of issues, especially those related to moving into final status talks,senior Palestinian official Yasser Abed Rabbo told reporters in the West Bank.
He spoke after a three-hour meeting between visiting US Middle East envoy George Mitchell and Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas, part of a sixth round of indirect peace talks with Israel launched in May.The three-hour meeting between Abbas and Mitchell was important but there are several issues, most important among them the settlements and the situation in Jerusalem, that need more clarity,Abed Rabbo said.
The Palestinians have long demanded a complete freeze of Israeli settlements ahead of face-to-face peace talks and accused Israel of undermining the process by approving new settler homes in mostly Arab east Jerusalem, which the Palestinians view as their capital.Israel occupied the eastern half of the city in the 1967 Six Day War along with the West Bank and annexed it in a move not recognised by the international community, declaring the entire city its eternal, undivided capital.As with previous visits, Mitchell declined to discuss the details of the talks, saying only that it was a very productive meeting and that US President Barack Obama remained committed to a two-state peace deal.Earlier this month, during a visit to Washington by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Obama said he hoped to see direct talks begin before a partial moratorium on West Bank settlements ends in September.The Palestinians reluctantly agreed to launch indirect peace talks in May after suspending the last round of direct negotiations during the 2008-2009 Gaza war.
In recent weeks Abbas had largely backed away from conditioning direct talks on a full settlement freeze, instead insisting on progress on the issue of borders and security.In an interview published Saturday, he said he would meet Netanyahu if Israel agreed in principle to a Palestinian state on the 1967 borders with equal land swaps and the presence of an international security force.Israel must accept that the Palestinian territory in question be that of the 1967 borders and with the presence of a third party,he told Jordan's Al-Ghad newspaper, referring to the West Bank, east Jerusalem and Gaza.This will push us to embark on direct negotiations, Abbas said.The Palestinians say Netanyahu has yet to respond to the proposal, and the prime minister has previously said Israeli forces would remain stationed in the strategic Jordan Valley after a peace deal to prevent weapons smuggling.In an indication of the domestic pressure Abbas faces, his own party on Thursday told him not enter into direct talks with Netanyahu's right-wing government without showing progress in the proximity negotiations.A decision this week to approve the construction of more than 30 new homes in a major east Jerusalem settlement, as well as the demolition of six Palestinian homes built without city permits, could further constrain Abbas.Netanyahu has repeatedly called for direct talks, but few Palestinians believe his right-wing government is willing to withdraw from the occupied territories.They point out that in nearly 17 years of on-again off-again peace talks the number of Jewish settlers in the West Bank has nearly tripled to 300,000, with another 200,000 now living in occupied and annexed east Jerusalem.
Mitchell was to meet with Netanyahu for a second time on Sunday. The two met on Friday with neither side discussing the details of the talks.
Israel must accept outside forces: Abbas
Sat Jul 17, 10:50 am ET
AMMAN (AFP) – Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas said Israel must accept the deployment of an international force in a future Palestinian state before direct talks can begin, in an interview published on Saturday.Israel must accept that the Palestinian territory in question be that of the 1967 borders and with the presence of a third party,he told Jordan's Al-Ghad newspaper, referring to the 1967 Six-Day War.We will consider this as the desired progress and this will push us to embark on direct negotiations,Abbas said.Al-Ghad said Abbas was referring to a security accord sealed under former Israeli premier Ehud Olmert calling for the presence of an international force to guard the Palestinian territories, excluding Israel.This is the accord and I believe that Jordan and Egypt were aware of it and gave their approval in principle,said Abbas.In the West Bank town of Ramallah, Abbas held a three-hour meeting on Saturday with visiting US Middle East envoy George Mitchell, part of a sixth round of indirect talks with Israel.The Palestinians have demanded a complete freeze of Israeli settlements ahead of any face-to-face peace talks and have accused Israel of undermining the process by approving new settler homes in mostly Arab east Jerusalem.
US says Israel rocket shield will work By ANNE FLAHERTY, Associated Press Writer – Fri Jul 16, 1:42 pm ET
WASHINGTON – A U.S.-backed rocket shield is on track to protect Israeli towns against rocket attacks from the Gaza Strip, a senior State Department official said Friday.The system, dubbed the Iron Dome, is being touted by the Obama administration as the latest example of expanded military cooperation between the U.S. and Israel. President Barack Obama has asked Congress for $205 million to accelerate development of the system, about half its total cost.The election-year message of increased U.S. aid to Israel seems aimed at assauging the concerns of many Jewish voters that Obama remains committed to Israel's security, despite diplomatic tensions earlier this year.As surely as the bond between the United States and Israel is unbreakable, our commitment to Israel's qualitative military edge has never been greater,said Andrew Shapiro, an assistant secretary of State for political and military affairs.Israel has had no system in place to guard against the thousands of rockets that militants have rained down on its southern and northern borders over the years, fired by Hamas militants in Gaza and Hezbollah guerrillas in Lebanon.
Millions of Israeli civilians are within rocket range, and the military has stepped up its quest for a solution after the country's 2006 war against Hezbollah, when 4,000 short-range Katyusha rockets bombarded northern Israel.Iron Dome uses cameras and radar to track incoming rockets and shoot them down within seconds of their launch.Jonathan Peled, a spokesman for the Israeli embassy, said he could not provide details on the latest round of tests, but confirmed that a test this week was successful.Neither country has said when the system will be operational.Israel receives about $3 billion a year in U.S. military aid, including money for training. Last fall, more than 1,000 U.S. troops participated in a massive U.S.-Israeli missile defense exercise codenamed Juniper Cobra.
