Tag Archive for Israel settlements

‘Deal of the Century’ may spur ICC case on Jewish settlements

Analysis: With the Trump State Department’s policy on Jewish settlements a direct contradiction to previous administrations, Israeli leaders may find themselves facing an ICC prosecutor who contends there’s a ‘reasonable basis’ to believe building Jewish neighborhoods is a war crime.

By the Associated Press

 

Emboldened by a supportive White House, Israel appears to be barreling toward a showdown with the international community over its half-century-old settlement enterprise in the West Bank.

With the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court poised to launch a war crimes probe of Israel’s settlement policies, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday announced plans to move ahead with the potentially explosive annexation of large parts of the West Bank, including dozens of settlements. Continue Reading »

Palestinians fume as US St. Dept. deems Jewish settlements legal

Israel’s PM Netanyahu thanks White House following Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s pronouncement that Israeli civilian settlements in Judea & Samaria are not illegal under int’l law, then urged Palestinians to hold final status talks.
– Palestinian leadership reiterates how Trump administration has forfeited any future role in peace process.

By Ynet

 

Israel on Monday welcomed the U.S. decision to no longer view its settlements in areas captured in 1967 as illegal, but said that it would . remain ready to negotiate a final status agreement with Israel

Netanyahu also maintained that the settlements were a matter to be decided by the Israeli courts. Continue Reading »

Op-Ed: Latest wave of Palestinian terrorism deserves ‘A proper Zionist response’

With no death penalty sentences laid down for convicted terrorists, and Palestinian leadership’s glorification & rewards to murderers that only incentivizes more attacks, it may be time to implement & accelerate a proper Zionist response, something the Palestinian leadership will find more difficult to digest.

By Nadav Shragai

 

Maybe our leaders will implement harsh measures and we can now come to our senses by launching a broader, more creative offensive initiative; and maybe we will continue restraining and fortifying ourselves to death with more walls and fences; but what about providing a proper Zionist response? What happened to that most basic and healthy Jewish instinct, characteristic of our return to Zion? Continue Reading »

With Oslo essentially dead, Israel legalizes and populates Amichai

The new settlement Amichai, the first in the 25 years after the Oslo Accords, is being built for families evacuated from the illegal outpost Amona, and the nearby outposts that will be annexed to it.

By Oded Shalom

 

The Shiloh Valley in the Samaria region spreads from Shvut Rahel to the Jordan Rift Valley. The entire area is covered with Cabernet grape vineyards and olive groves. On the hills above them are the outposts Ahiya, Kida, Esh Kodesh, and Adei Ad—all of which were illegally built, with demolition orders issued to all homes and structures.

Amona residents evacuate their homes, their settlement and will eventually be relocated to Amichai.

Continue Reading »

Norway: Boycotting Israel is legal

Although Norway’s deputy foreign minister signed a document asserting boycotting Israel as inappropriate, the country’s Foreign Affairs Ministry proclaimed boycotting goods coming from Israeli settlements was legal.

By Itamar Eichner

 

Norway’s Foreign Affairs Ministry determined that boycotting products and services coming from Israeli settlements is legal and does not contradict Norway’s international trade commitments.

Nevertheless, the assertion was said to be inappropriate, according to an internal document signed by Norway’s deputy foreign affairs minister published during the weekend.

“The government does not consider boycotting Israel’s product to be helpful in solving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict,” the document said.

The document was sent as response to Tromsø district’s governor’s request to be updated about the juridical examination launched by Norway’s Foreign Affairs Ministry in 2016. Continue Reading »

White House: “Demands for settlement freeze have not helped advance peace talks.”

Although, PM Netanyahu is under pressure from the Trump administration to constrain settlement activity, Israeli officials say the government intends to advance 3,736 new homes, as a White House official related, “The administration recognizes that past demands for a settlement freeze have not helped advance peace talks.”

By TOVAH LAZAROFF, MICHAEL WILNER

 

Demands to freeze settlement activity have not helped the peace process, a White House official said on Tuesday, in response to reports that Israel could advance plans for thousands of new settler homes next week.

Building Jewish homes in jerusalem – Photo: IsraelandStuff/PP

“President Trump has publicly and privately expressed his concerns regarding settlements, and the administration has made clear that unrestrained settlement activity does not advance the prospect for peace,” a White House official told The Jerusalem Post. Continue Reading »

OPINION: Will the ICC be the first to arrest Israelis abroad, or Interpol?

With the international community accepting the State of Palestine in global organizations, NGOs and UN committees, Abbas and the PLO have already initiated war crimes probes against Israel, so, who will be the first to issue arrest warrants, and to whom?

By YONAH JEREMY BOB

 

Following last month’s acceptance of the “The State of Palestine” as a member of Interpol, a new question has come to the fore: What is the greatest legal threat now to Israel? Interpol or the International Criminal Court? Both institutions have the potential authority to issue international arrest warrants against Israelis for alleged war crimes. Continue Reading »

Washington talks on Israeli settlement homes construction ends without agreement

 

Despite setting a more positive tone towards Israel, the 4-day round of talks between the Trump administration and Israeli officials has ended without agreement over the issue of settlements, since the US delegation reiterated Trump’s concerns over Israeli settlement activity.

By Reuters

 

The Trump administration reiterated its concerns about Israeli settlement activity, the two sides said on Thursday, as a round of talks ended without agreement over limiting future construction on land the Palestinians want for a state.

POTUS tells PM Netanyahu to hold off on the construction.- Photo: GPO

The four days of high-level meetings in Washington marked the latest step by President Donald Trump’s aides aimed at opening the way to renewed peace diplomacy between Israel and the Palestinians, despite deep skepticism in the United States and Middle East over the chances for success.

Continue Reading »

Israel’s PM Announces First New West Bank Settlement in 26 Years

 

After years of Mahmoud Abbas inciting hatred and violence against Israel in direct violations of the ‘Oslo Accords’, Jerusalem appears to be finally giving up on the so-called peace deal, with Netanyahu authorizing the first new settlement in decades.

By Israel Today Staff

 

Even as government forces were evacuating the unauthorized Jewish outpost of Amona, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday announced plans for the first new Jewish settlement in the “West Bank” in over 25 years.

Itamar, in the West Bank – Photo: Wikimedia Commons/מנחם-ברודי

Netanyahu said he was putting together a government committee to advance construction of the new community, the name and location of which is yet to be decided. Continue Reading »

Giuliani: Trump still backs Jerusalem Embassy move, final decision upcoming

 

Former NY mayor notes Trump administration finds embassy move far more complex, needing more counsel before making final decision.
– Giuliani said POTUS’ no-comment on Israel’s settlement construction announcements demonstrate a stark ideological difference to Obama’s immediate public condemnations.

BY HERB KEINON

 

Former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani, who has long supported moving the US embassy to Jerusalem and is an advisor to US President Donald Trump, told The Jerusalem Post on Wednesday that he believes the issue “is under active consideration.”

He stepped back, however, from saying whether or not it will happen. “That is something that the president will have to decide. Continue Reading »

Ashton Kutcher graciously defends Airbnb when Jewish BDS protester disrupts conference

view videoWATCH VIDEO: Jewish BDS protester was escorted offstage with the actor and investor telling the crowd, ‘This company is about bringing people together.’

By J. S. Herzog

 

A BDS protestor from the organization Code Pink forced her way onto the stage of the Airbnb Open 2016: A Festival of Hosting conference on Saturday night in Los Angeles, prompting Airbnb investor and famous actor Ashton Kutcher to defend the company.

The protestor, Ariel Gold, brandished a pink sign reading “Airbnb out of Settlements; @codepink,” the Twitter handle of “a women-led grassroots organization working to end U.S. Continue Reading »

Quartet harps on Israel’s ongoing settlement activity

 

view videoIsrael’s PM Netanyahu, forced to declare the reality of the conflict: “The real settlements Palestinians are after are Haifa, Jaffa and Tel Aviv.”

By DANIELLE ZIRI

 

NEW YORK – The Middle East Quartet called Israel out on Friday for its ongoing settlement activity, which they said is “an obstacle to peace.”

Quartet Flags

Quartet Flags, US, UN, Russia & EU – Photoshopped: IsraelandStuff/PP

Representatives of the Quartet, which include United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, United States Secretary of State John Kerry and European Union Representative Federica Mogherini, met in New York on the last day of the UN General debate. Continue Reading »

Pro-Palestinians up campaign against Airbnb with video and mock webposts

Left-wing, Jewish Voice for Peace, a proponent of the BDS movement, releases YouTube video featuring activists & Palestinians urging tourists to boycott West Bank rentals.

By CORAL BRAUN

 

Left-wing organization Jewish Voice for Peace released a YouTube video Saturday to up a joint-campaign against Airbnb’s listing of West Bank settlement homes on its vacation home rental platform.

Airbnb listings of homes in the West Bank. - Photo: Courtesy

Airbnb listings of homes in the West Bank. – Photo: Courtesy

Urging travelers to steer clear of West Bank rentals, the video featured unnamed activists and Palestinians speaking out against Airbnb’s failure to “follow international law,” which, by United Nations standards, deems “Israeli settlements in the West Bank illegal.” Continue Reading »

UN envoy: Israeli ‘settlements’ are impediment to peace – Glick in rebuttal: Absurd & anti-Semitic

 

view videoWhile ignoring a request to condemn Hezbollah, UN’s Mid-East envoy Nickolay Mladenov singles out Israel to blame.
• WATCH: Caroline Glick shuts down anti semitic & bias argument that Israeli ‘settlements’ are an impediment to peace with the Palestinians.

By Ben Ariel

 

The UN envoy for the Middle East peace process on Thursday blasted Israeli “settlements” as being an obstacle to peace.

The envoy, Nickolay Mladenov, made the comments in an address to the Security Council today in which he urged both Israel and the PA to end the long-standing conflict.

According to a UN statement, Mladenov painted a troubling picture of the situation in the region and said that the conflict has now arrived at “a pivotal point.” Continue Reading »

Palestinians, leftists fuming that Airbnb list Jewish homes in Judea & Samaria

 

According to Al Jazeera, dozens of Israelis from West Bank towns are renting  rooms and vacation homes to tourists, provoking the ire of pro-Palestinians, who were unable to get a reaction from the California-based company. 

By JPOST.COM STAFF

 

Airbnb, the popular online accommodation, rent, and lodging service is under fire from Israeli peaceniks and Palestinian officials for listing residences in Jewish towns and settlements beyond the 1967 Green Line without noting the disputed political status of these areas.

Airbnb listings of homes in the West Bank. - Photo: Courtesy

Airbnb listings of homes in the West Bank. – Photo: Courtesy

According to Al Jazeera, dozens of Israeli settlers in the West Bank are offering their homes to tourists. Continue Reading »