Tag Archive for Palestinian Authority

| September 18, 2013
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PA Leak: Israel to release 250 more prisoners

 

Unnamed Palestinian sources reported Israel close to approving the release of an additional 250 prisoners after the 104 it has already publicly agreed to free.

By Roi Kais

Israel is close to officially approving the release of an additional 250 Palestinian prisoners, Palestinian sources defined as “credible” told the London-based Arabic newspaper Al-Hayat.

Ramallah celebrates prisoners' release in August (Photo: AP)

Ramallah celebrates prisoners’ release in August – Photo: AP

Israel has already agreed to release 104 prisoners as part of the resumption of peace negotiations. Twenty-six of those prisoners were freed last month. The second phase of the prisoners’ release is scheduled for the end of October. Continue Reading »

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: , ,
| September 17, 2013
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Palestinian Woman Hangs Her Pregnant Daughter in Hebron

This is the 20th Suspected ‘honor killing’ this year in Abbas’ Palestinian Authority-controlled area.

PA law caps sentencing for ‘honor’ murders at a mere 6 months in prison.

By Ari Soffer

 

 

A woman turned herself in to Palestinian Authority police on Sunday and confessed to brutally murdering her mentally-challenged daughter in an apparent “honor killing.”

(Illustration) The 20th Murder this year – Photo: Reuters

Gulf News reported that the woman admitted to beating her unmarried daughter, and then hanging her, after finding out that she was pregnant.

The shocking crime occurred in the Arab town of Yata, near Hevron. Continue Reading »

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: ,
| September 15, 2013
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Israel & PA Renew Agricultural Accords After 13 Year Delay

The agricultural cooperation will help reduce regional tensions, by creating economic committees & workshops for PA farmers etc, that are good for both sides.

By Maayana Miskin

 

Israel and the Palestinian Authority have agreed to renew the agricultural accords that were in place prior to the outbreak of the “Second Intifada” terror war in 2000.

Agricultural officials from both sides met and agreed to establish a regional center for economic and agricultural cooperation.

The initiative aims to improve food quality for the PA population, and to assist both Israel and the PA in fighting crop disease and infestation, both of which can easily cross man-made borders. Continue Reading »

Category: Israel News | Tags: , , ,
| September 15, 2013
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Diplomacy: The Oslo Fiasco

A look at the Oslo Accords that changed the West Bank, and Israel, 20 years later.

By TOVAH LAZAROFF

 

 
In the last 20 years, the Oslo Accords have turned from a dream into a nightmare for their main architect, Israeli left-wing politician Yossi Beilin.
Binyamin Netanyahu, Bill Clinton and Yasser Arafat

Binyamin Netanyahu, Bill Clinton and Yasser Arafat – Photo: REUTER

“Enough is enough, it has to die,” Beilin told The Jerusalem Post on the eve of the anniversary of the famous Sept. 13, 1993 handshake on the White House lawn between then-prime minister Yitzhak Rabin, Palestine Liberation Organization chairman Yasser Arafat and US president Bill Clinton.

Beilin, who at the time was deputy foreign minister in the Labor-led government, stood on the lawn with hundreds of other dignitaries, filled with both hope and fear.

Continue Reading »
Category: Israel News | Tags: ,
| September 6, 2013
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Abbas’ PA Demands Jerusalem Provide it with Gas Masks

Although seeking independence & statehood, the Palestinian Authority claims it’s Israel’s responsibility to provide gas masks for its civilians that are not under Israel law, but under PA jurisdictions.

By Ari Soffer

 

A Palestinian Authority official has demanded that Israel provide civilians living in PA-controlled areas with gas masks in the event of a spillover of violence from Syria.

Trying on my gas-mask - Photo: IsraelandStuff/PP

Trying on my gas-mask – Photo: IsraelandStuff/PP

Israel has been distributing gas masks to its citizens over the last two weeks amid fears of reprisals against the Jewish state, following anticipated US military intervention in neighboring Syria.

Syrian officials have repeatedly declared that in the event of a western-led intervention against the regime, they would respond by attacking Israel. Continue Reading »

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: , ,
| August 28, 2013
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Norwegian FM: World refuses to bankroll Palestinians with blank-check forever

 

Espen Barth Eide praised Israelis for taking a very ‘difficult’ step in releasing prisoners, saying now the PA must also make concessions, and if progress is not made, ‘donations’ will stop.

By HERB KEINON
 

 

Both the Palestinians and Israel should know that the world will not bankroll Palestinian Authority state-building forever, and that if progress is not made the donations will stop, Norway’s Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide told The Jerusalem Post Tuesday.

Espen Barth Eide meet with PA President Abbas August 27, 2013.

Espen Barth Eide meet with PA President Abbas August 27, 2013. – Photo: REUTERS

“The donors will not be ready to keep funding Palestinian state-building much longer if we are not seeing a political horizon,” said Eide.

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Category: Israel News | Tags: , ,
| August 27, 2013
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Fahmy visits Abbas to strengthen ties with Palestinian Authority

Egypt’s Foreign Minister Nabil Fahmy voices support for ‘Palestinian cause’, but warns that Israeli settlement activity & yesterday’s deadly West Bank incident jeopardize the Israeli-Palestinian peace talks.

By DPA

 

 

Egyptian Foreign Minister Nabil Fahmy on Monday reiterated that the “Palestinian cause” remains an Egyptian priority, and thanked Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas for standing by Cairo’s military rulers.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Nabil Fahmy (L) meets with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah

Egyptian Foreign Minister Nabil Fahmy (L) meets with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas at his office in the West Bank city of Ramallah, Monday, Aug 26, 2013. – Photo: AP

“Abbas was among the first to come to Egypt to show support,” Fahmy told a news conference in Ramallah alongside his Palestinian counterpart Riyad al-Malki. Continue Reading »

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: , , ,
| August 26, 2013
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Fatah: Abbas will soon implement ‘painful decisions’ against Hamas

 

Fatah official Azzam al-Ahmed, said Hamas will no longer be recognized as a partner in the process after implementation of decisions agreed upon with Israel.

By KHALED ABU TOAMEH

 

The Palestinian Authority will soon take “painful decisions” against Hamas, senior Fatah official Azzam al- Ahmed announced on Sunday.

Palestinian Hamas rally

Palestinian Hamas rally – Photo: REUTERS/Abed Omar Qusini

Ahmed did not specify the nature of the decisions.

However, he said that Hamas would no longer be considered a partner in any process after the decisions are taken by the PA leadership.

The official denied that the PA leadership in the West Bank was considering declaring the Gaza Strip a “rogue entity.”

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Category: Mid-East News | Tags: , , , ,
| August 24, 2013
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Abbas’ Plans to Call Elections will Challenge Hamas

PA President Abbas is planning to challenge Hamas’ legitimacy by holding elections only in Judea & Samaria & then declaring that Gaza is a ‘rebel region.’

By Elad Benari, Canada

 

Palestinian Authority (PA) Chairman Mahmoud Abbas is planning to challenge Hamas by holding elections only in the areas of Judea and Samaria under his control, Channel 2 News reported on Friday.

According to the report, which cited officials in Ramallah, Abbas is planning to call for elections in the PA-assigned areas of Judea and Samaria soon, and has appointed a team of officials from his Fatah movement to plan the move. Continue Reading »

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: , , ,
| August 23, 2013
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PA President tells Meretz MKs: No progress in peace talks with Israel

PA Mahmoud Abbas: Palestinian refugees will not be returning to Jaffa & Acre

By GIL HOFFMAN, KHALED ABU TOAMEH
 

 

There has been no progress made whatsoever in the first four meetings between Israeli and Palestinian delegations since diplomatic talks restarted, Palestinian Authority president Mahmoud Abbas told a visiting group of Meretz MKs in Ramallah on Thursday, a party spokeswoman said.

Mahmoud Abbas with a visiting group of Meretz MKs in Ramallah, August 22, 2013.

Mahmoud Abbas with a visiting group of Meretz MKs in Ramallah, August 22, 2013. – Photo: Courtesy Palestinian Authority

Abbas said he was not optimistic that the talks will succeed, but he “hoped they were not a waste of time” and that an agreement could be reached between Israel and the Palestinians over the next six months.

Continue Reading »
Category: Israel News | Tags: , , , ,
| August 21, 2013
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PA Threatens to Sue Israel in Int’l Court Over Building New Homes

Contrary to the spirit of making peace with Israel,  Palestinian Authority member is threatening to sue Israel over building plans they were informed about prior to the commencement of negotiations.

By Ari Soffer

 

The Palestinian Authority threatened Wednesday to sue Israel through international bodies if it continues expanding Jewish communities in Judea, Samaria and Jerusalem, warning that they would put an end to talks unless building in Jewish areas came to a halt.

“These are not just dots on a map,” PLO (Palestinian Liberation Organization) executive committee member Hanan Ashrawi said of more than 2,000 new Jewish homes which were approved for construction ahead of a resumption of peace negotiations late last month. Continue Reading »

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: , , ,
| August 20, 2013
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Released for publication: IDF prevented stabing attack

 

IDF troop catch would-be-terrorist at Nablus internet-café, where he was allegedly ordered by Gaza terror group to travel to central Israel & stab passerby, in bid to derail Israel-PA peace talks.

By Yoav Zitun

The IDF and the Shin Bet arrested some two weeks ago in Nablus a Palestinian man in his 20s, most likely just as he was about to travel to a city in central Israel, where he was planning to perpetrate attacks with a knife. 

Illustration Photo: Index Open

The arrest was made by an IDF Givati unit in an internet-café in Nablus, where the suspect allegedly received orders from his handlers who are members of a Gaza Strip terror group. Continue Reading »

Category: Israel News | Tags: ,
| August 19, 2013
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United States paying Abbas $148M to stay at Peace Table

Continuing the “peace talks” with Israel is paying big-time for the Palestinian Authority. They’ve succeeded in receiving huge ‘pay-offs’ for each attendance.

By Gil Ronen

 

Negotiations with Israel are paying off already for the Palestinian Authority (PA).

The United States’ consul general in Jerusalem, Michael Ratney, signed an agreement Sunday with PA caretaker prime minister Rami Hamdallah, according to which the U.S. will pay the PA $148 million.

PA finance minister Shukri Bishara witnessed the ceremony along with the director of the United States Agency for International Development, David Harden, reported the Bethlehem-based Maan news agency.

“Hamdallah applauded the US government for supporting the Palestinian people financially and noted that the latest grant would help Palestinian institutions continue to provide services to citizens,” said Maan, which is seen as a semi-independent news agency. Continue Reading »

Category: Israel News | Tags: ,
| August 19, 2013
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Here we go again: PLO charges Israel with ‘war crimes, anti-human, racist acts’

 

With Abbas having little or no support with other Palestinian factions, PLO leaders say talks are “cover for settlement project”.

By KHALED ABU TOAMEH, HERB KEINON
 

 

The PLO leadership on Sunday launched a scathing attack on Israel and threatened to go to international agencies to punish it for its “war crimes, anti-human racist acts and violations of international laws.”

PA's Abbas heads meeting of PLO Executive C'tee

PA’s Abbas heads meeting of PLO Executive C’tee – Photo: REUTERS

The attack came during a meeting in Ramallah of the PLO Executive Committee under the chairmanship of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.

The PLO leaders said they would not accept a situation where the peace talks with Israel, which resumed recently, would become a “political cover for the implementation of the largest settlement project.”

Continue Reading »
Category: Israel News | Tags: , ,
| August 17, 2013
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PA officials accuse Kerry of ‘deception & misinformation’ in peace talks with Israel

Palestinian representatives say Kerry gave Abbas assurances on Israeli settlement freeze.

By KHALED ABU TOAMEH

 

 

Palestinian officials in Ramallah have accused the US Administration of deceiving and misinforming the Palestinian Authority with regards to the peace talks with Israel.

US Secretary of State John Kerry (R) shakes hands with Saeb Erekat, April 2013.

US Secretary of State John Kerry (R) shakes hands with Saeb Erekat, April 2013. – Photo: REUTERS

The officials told the London-based Al-Hayat newspaper that they were concerned about the US Administration’s role in the peace talks with Israel, especially its position on plans to build new homes in settlements and east Jerusalem neighborhoods.

The officials met with PA President Mahmoud Abbas last Thursday and heard from him about the peace talks with Israel.

Continue Reading »
Category: Jewish News | Tags: , , ,
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