Tag Archive for Palestinian Authority

| November 14, 2012
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Israel Opting to Declare Oslo Dead & Buried

Israel’s Foreign Ministry notes that Abbas has basically destroyed the Oslo Accords in his unilateral decision to appeal to the UN General Assembly, and as such the FM may officially declare them canceled.

By Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu

 

The Foreign Ministry has told its ambassadors to explain that the Palestinian Authority’s plan to ask for United Nations recognition is a violation of the Oslo Accords and may cause Israel to officially announce that it is “canceling them partially or completely.”  The agreement commits the PA to negotiate with Israel for the establishment of an independent PA entity.

Oslo Accords: Rabin, Clinton and Arafat

Oslo Accords: Rabin, Clinton and Arafat
Official White House photo

“You are asked immediately at the beginning of the work week to contact the foreign ministry, prime minister’s office, national security adviser or president’s office and request to do all possible to halt the Palestinian initiative because of its far-reaching consequences,” the ambassadors were instructed in a cable from Aharon Leshno-Yaar, director of the Foreign Ministry’s department for international organizations. Continue Reading »

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| November 11, 2012
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Now Russian experts also to assist in Arafat’s exhumation

The joint team of Swiss & French investigators  will now also have Russian experts in exhuming the remains of late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, scheduled for November 26.

 

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said Sunday that Russian experts will join a team of Swiss and French investigators in exhuming the remains of late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat later this month.

The grave of the late Palestinian President Yasser Arafat

Palestinians pray at the grave of the late Palestinian President Yasser Arafat, inside his compound in the West Bank city of Ramallah – Photo by Reuters

Abbas said he hopes that thanks to the Russian involvement, “new facts will arise or be known about the causes of death.” Continue Reading »

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| November 11, 2012
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If Palestinians seek UN recognition, Israel says it will close cash tap

Finance Minster Yuval Steinitz tells town hall meeting in Be’er Sheva, ‘It cannot be that they hit us unilaterally & then expect bilateral cooperation with us on economic matters,’

By Reuters

 

Israel will stop collecting tax revenues for the Palestinian Authority and not hand over any money if President Mahmoud Abbas continues to seek observer state membership of the United Nations, Israel’s finance minister said on Saturday.

Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz.

Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz. – Photo: Michal Fattal

“If the Palestinians continue to advance their unilateral move they should not expect bilateral cooperation. We will not collect their taxes for them and we will not transfer their tax revenues,” Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz said. Continue Reading »

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| November 9, 2012
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Foreign Minister Lieberman goes to Europe to stave off Palestinian UN status change

FM Avigdor Lieberman flies to Vienna to discuss with Israel’s EU ambassadors the PA’s draft resolution for upgrading its status to that of an “observer state”

By Shlomo Cesana, Israel Hayom Staff and Reuters

 

Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman flew to the Austrian capital of Vienna on Friday to meet with Israel’s ambassadors to European Union countries to discuss the Palestinian Authority’s plan to imminently seek an upgrade of its U.N. status to that of an “observer state.”

Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman says Palestinian Authority’s plan to unilaterally seek U.N. status upgrade “breaks the rules.” – Photo: Yoav Ari Dudkevitch

“The unilateral step that the Palestinians are planning breaks the rules, crosses red lines and will have far-reaching consequences,” Lieberman warned on Thursday.

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| November 8, 2012
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Fatah recognizes that Oslo Accords will be nullified after UN bid

Abbas Zaki admits that once Palestine becomes a recognized state, they will force the international community to take legal action against Israel.

By KHALED ABU TOAMEH

 

The Oslo Accords between the PLO and Israel will cease to exist the day after the UN votes in favor of upgrading the status of a Palestinian state to non-member, Abbas Zaki, member of the Fatah Central Committee, was quoted Thursday as saying.
Abbas Zaki

Fatah Central Committee’s Abbas Zaki – Photo: REUTERS

Zaki’s remarks came as Palestinian Authority officials said that the PA President Mahmoud Abbas was considering asking for a UN vote on November 15 or 29. Continue Reading »

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| November 6, 2012
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Israel Issues Tenders for 1,200 New Homes in Metro-Jerusalem Area

Peace Now reports that Israel has formally issued new tenders for an additional 1,213 homes in areas of Jerusalem returned to the country after the 6-Day War.

By Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu

 

Israel has issued tenders for additional 1,213 homes in areas of Jerusalem restored to the country after the Six-Day War, according to the anti-nationalist Peace Now organization, quoted by AFP.

Maaleh Zeitim area in eastern Jerusalem

Maaleh Zeitim area in eastern Jerusalem
Israel News Photo: JCDF

The report was based on Peace Now’s citing tenders published by the Israeli Housing Ministry, for 607 units in the northern Jerusalem area of Pisgat Ze’ev and 606 units in Ramot, located near the Jerusalem-Tel Aviv highway. Continue Reading »

Category: Israel News | Tags: ,
| November 3, 2012
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Senior Israeli defense official: Egypt’s Morsi refuses to talk to us

Amos Gilad described Morsi’s gov’t as a ‘terrible dictatorship.
Israel must safeguard the peace treaty with Egypt ‘at any cost.’

By

 

Senior Israeli defense official Amos Gilad came out against the Muslim Brotherhood leadership in Egypt on Friday, describing it as a “terrible dictatorship,” and saying President Mohammed Morsi’s regime “won’t talk” to Israel.

Supporters of Mohammed Morsi celebrate his election as president of Egypt

Supporters of Mohammed Morsi celebrate his election as president of Egypt, June 2012 – Photo by Reuters

Speaking to students at an event in the Israeli city of Herzliya, Gilad said that “out of a desire for democracy, a terrible dictatorship has arisen” in Egypt, where the Muslim Brotherhood came to power after elections earlier this year. Continue Reading »

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| November 3, 2012
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Gaza’s Hamas Slams PA Chairman Abbas over Israeli TV Interview

Hamas outraged by Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas’s remarks that he considers Palestine “a state within the pre-1967 borders.”

By Elad Benari, Canada

 

Hamas slammed Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas on Friday, in response to comments he made in an interview he gave to Israel’s Channel 2 News.

In the interview, which aired on the network’s Friday evening news magazine, Abbas hinted he would be willing to give up on the so-called “right of return” and said that he considers Palestine as “a state within the pre-1967 borders which exists alongside Israel.”

The comments irked Hamas’ prime minister in Gaza, Ismail Haniyeh, who issued an angry statement and said that Abbas’ remarks represent only his personal opinion and not the opinions of the “Palestinian people.” Continue Reading »

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| November 2, 2012
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West Bank: What is the West Funding?

Failing to hold the PA accountable for its actions, will only drive more Palestinians into the arms of Hamas & the other radical forces.

by Khaled Abu Toameh

 

Harb said that the decision to summon him for questioning was in the context of the Palestinian Authority leadership’s campaign to intimidate Palestinian writers and journalists and stop them from discussing internal issues. International human rights groups and countries that fund and support Abbas’s authority have yet to sound their voices. Failing to hold the Palestinian Authority accountable will only drive more Palestinians into the arms of Hamas and other radical forces.

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Category: Mid-East News | Tags: ,
| November 1, 2012
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Erekat warns of ‘retaliation’ from US & Israeli after UN bid

Top PLO negotiator says Washington & Jerusalem may take punitive measures in response to Palestinian bid to upgrade to non-member state, says Palestinian Authority need to prepare for reactions to “avoid a state of internal chaos.”

By KHALED ABU TOAMEH

The Palestinians must be prepared for the possibility that the US and Israel may impose severe economic restrictions on the Palestinian Authority the day after the UN upgrades the status of a Palestinian state to non-member, Chief PLO negotiator Saeb Erekat warned Thursday.

“It’s very important to be prepared for Israeli reactions to the upgrading of the Palestinian state’s status so as to avoid a state of internal chaos [in the Palestinian territories],” Erekat said in an report about the implications of the statehood bid.

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| October 21, 2012
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Fatah wins West Bank elections, but not by a landslide

Palestinians in the West Bank vote for mayors & local councils for 1st time since 2006

Just under 55% voted & renegades won more council seats than those officially endorsed by Fatah.

By The Associated Press and Israel Hayom Staff

 

Palestinians voted for local councils in dozens of towns in the West Bank on Saturday, but Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and his Fatah movement did not get the sweeping endorsement they hoped for — even though archrival Hamas boycotted the vote.

Maysoun Qawasmi, a candidate in the Palestinian municipal elections and leading the women-only list, casts her ballot in Hebron on Saturday.

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Category: Mid-East News | Tags: ,
| October 10, 2012
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Abbas suggests to Israel peace talks resumption after UN vote on ‘nonmember state’ status

If Abbas receives UN recognition of a Palestinian state that includes all of the West Bank, PA officials believes a settlement freeze would no longer be a condition for negotiations

 

The Palestinian president appears to be backing away from his longstanding demand for Israel to halt West Bank settlement construction before peace talks resume.

PA President Abbas with the Jordanian Prime Minister Fayez Al Tarawneh.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, right, shake hands with Jordanian Prime Minister Fayez Al Tarawneh during their meeting in the West Bank city of Ramallah, October 4, 2012. – Photo by AP

Mahmoud Abbas told European diplomats Tuesday that he will resume talks after the UN votes on a Palestinian request for “nonmember state” status. Continue Reading »

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| September 29, 2012
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Abbas’ PA Policy of Duplicity

The PA is well aware that Arabs detained by Israel enjoy more rights than those incarcerated by the Palestinian Authority security forces in the West Bank.

by Khaled Abu Toameh

 

Abbas is trying to show the US and the EU that he is serious about fighting the Hamas in the West Bank, and that is why he deserves a state and more funding. What the Americans and Europeans do not know is that many of these detainees are released within hours or days.

The Palestinian Authority’s duplicity — which has become an integral part of the Palestinian Authority’s strategy in dealing with both its people and Israel — reached new heights last week when its leaders called for a “day of solidarity” with Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails.

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Category: Mid-East News | Tags: ,
| September 19, 2012
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Palestinians denounce Romney for saying the PA isn’t interested in peace

Mahmoud Abbas’ spokesman & Saeb Erekat condemn remarks by Mitt Romney, who briefed donors that the Palestinians are ‘committed to the destruction of Israel.’

By The Associated Press and Reuters
Daniel Bar-On

Senior Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat last year. – Photo by Daniel Bar-On

The Palestinian Authority has denounced remarks by Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, who told donors that Palestinians “have no interest” in peace with Israel.

According to comments captured on newly released video of his private remarks to wealthy donors, Romney said Palestinians are “committed to the destruction and elimination of Israel” and that the prospects for a two-state solution to Mideast peace were dim. Continue Reading »

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: , ,
| September 14, 2012
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Retired Jordanian Colonel: No tension between Israel & Jordan

Rateb Amro, retired Jordanian colonel says PA’s bid at UN is ‘unreasonable’ but relations between Israel and Jordan are still good. Amaro warns however that not one Arab country will allow Israel or the US to attack Iran

Roi Kais

 

“When I was in the army, I fought against Israelis but those who suffered from war the most, were those who were convinced we must work towards peace. I do my job and I don’t care what others say,” Rateb Amro, a retired colonel in the Jordanian army told Ynet at the annual conference on counter terrorism held in Herzliya. Continue Reading »

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