Tag Archive for Palestinian Authority

| September 9, 2012
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PA president: Despite U.S. pressure, Palestinians will seek UN recognition

Abbas says Palestine wants recognition as non-member state; also says gov’t employees will not receive full salaries in October because ‘donor countries’ haven’t delivered their promised charity.

 

 

Mahmoud Abbas announced Saturday that the Palestinian Authority has decided to seek United Nations recognition as a non-member state. This will happen, said the Palestinian president, despite United States pressure opposing the move.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas talks at a press conference in the West Bank city of Ramallah

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas talks at a press conference in the West Bank city of Ramallah, Sept. 8, 2012. Photo by AP

Abbas, who spoke to reporters Saturday afternoon in the West Bank city of Ramallah, said the PA intends to submit the request to the UN General Assembly on September 27. Continue Reading »

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| August 29, 2012
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Netanyahu: Non-Aligned Movement is a disgrace to humanity

PM: Large presence at NAM conference proves “never again” is a hollow pledge; PA’s Abbas arrives in Iran for summit.

By JPOST.COM STAFF, KHALED ABU TOAMEH

 

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on Wednesday evening strongly condemned the Non-Aligned Movement summit taking place in Tehran, calling it a disgrace.

PM Netanyahu speaks to Jewish immigrants at BGU - Photo: REUTERS

PM Netanyahu speaks to Jewish immigrants at BGU – Photo: REUTERS

“Today, over 120 countries are meeting in Tehran, while the regime there denies the Holocaust, and works to destroy the Zionist state … this is a disgrace to humanity,” the prime minister said.

Netanyahu made his comments during a meeting with German politician David McAllister.

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| August 26, 2012
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PA President Abbas: I will not allow Iran to divide the Palestinians

Abbas’s comments follow Gaza reports that Iran invited the Hamas PM to the summit in Tehran; PA president meets with Meretz leader Gal-On in Ramallah; PA officials tell ‘Post’ Abbas still believes in Israeli peace camp.

By KHALED ABU TOAMEH, JPOST.COM STAFF

 

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said Sunday that he would not allow Iran to divide the Palestinians.

Abbas’s comments came after reports that Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad had invited Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh to attend the meeting of the Non-Aligned Movement in Tehran, beginning on Sunday. PA Foreign Minister Riad Malki announced Sunday that contrary to Hamas claims, Iran has not invited Haniyeh to attend the conference in Tehran. Continue Reading »

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| August 22, 2012
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Lieberman writes letter to world leaders: Call new elections to oust Abbas’ despotic gov’t

Lieberman calls PA a ‘despotic government riddled with corruption’ in his letter sent to the foreign ministers of the Middle East Quartet.

Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman has sent a letter to the foreign ministers of the Middle East Quartet members, calling on them to press for new elections in the Palestinian Authority to replace PA President Mahmoud Abbas, whom Lieberman described as an obstacle to peace.

Tomer Appelbaum

Avigdor Lieberman – Photo by Tomer Appelbaum

The letter, a copy of which was obtained by Haaretz, is dated August 20 and was sent to U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Catherine Ashton, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. Continue Reading »

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| August 17, 2012
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Kick-backs, Embezzlement & Corruption led to The Palestinian Failure

The economy of the PA (which enjoyed high growth rates after 1967 when control passed to the Israelis) stagnated & then went backward. In less than a decade Arafat  managed to squander the economic well-being, & moral capital amassed by his people, during the 23 years of Israeli rule.

By A. Jay Adler, who blogs at The Sad Red Earth, Times of Israel and The Algemeiner

 

Some nations are lucky in their leaders. For decades now, academic historians have downplayed the significance of the leader – the “great man” – in the understanding of historical epochs and focused their attention elsewhere. Continue Reading »

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: ,
| August 12, 2012
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Palestinian President Abbas urges Egypt to destroy Hamas’ underground tunnels

For first time, Palestinian Authority publicly  asks Egypt to destroy tunnels along its border with Gaza to tighten blockade.

By KHALED ABU TOAMEH

 

Buoyed by growing tensions between Hamas and Egypt in wake of last week’s terror attack in Sinai, the Palestinian Authority Saturday called on the Egyptians to tighten the blockade on the Gaza Strip by destroying all underground tunnels along their shared border.

A Gaza smuggling tunnel.

A Gaza smuggling tunnel. – Photo: Ashley Bates

The PA said that the tunnels do not contribute to the economy in the Gaza Strip and are being used only by a small number of people for personal gain.

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| August 3, 2012
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Jerusalem ‘angry’ at Mahmoud Abbas’ failure to reciprocate any goodwill

Internal government memo says PA President Abbas “unable to enter into negotiations that will require concessions.” Continues at ‘Israel-bashing’.

By HERB KEINON

 

The Palestinian failure to respond positively to a series of recent Israeli goodwill gestures shows that Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas is “unable to enter into negotiations that will require concessions,” according to an internal government memo made known to The Jerusalem Post.

PA President Mahmoud Abbas - Photo: Luis Galdamez/Reuters

PA President Mahmoud Abbas – Photo: Luis Galdamez/Reuters

The memo, according to senior government officials, reflects “anger in Jerusalem” over the PA’s recent behavior.

“It appears that despite a series of steps taken by Israel, the Palestinian Authority nevertheless continues in a very negative pattern of behavior,” one official said.

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Category: Mid-East News | Tags: ,
| July 25, 2012
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World Bank: Palestinian Economy is Unsustainable

World Bank says the PA economy is currently not strong enough to support a state due to foreign aid reliance.

 

The Palestinian economy’s recent growth is unsustainable because of its heavy reliance on foreign aid, a World Bank report said Wednesday.

For the past two decades, donor countries have propped the Palestinian economy by giving billions of dollars. The report said such aid has led to 7.7 percent gross domestic product growth between 2007 and 2011.The growth has been primarily in government services, real estate and other non-tradable sectors. In contrast, the report said manufacturing and agriculture have dropped significantly. Continue Reading »

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| July 16, 2012
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Palestinians Plan to Revive Bid for UN Recognition

Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat says timing of the request in asking the U.N. General Assembly to recognize Palestine as observer state will be decided next week by the Arab League.

By The Associated Press

 

The Palestinian Authority has announced that it plans to reapply for U.N. recognition. Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said on Sunday that the timing of the request would be decided next week by the Arab League.

Gaining U.N. recognition requires a prospective state to achieve a two-thirds majority at the U.N. General Assembly. – Photo credit: Reuters

Gaining U.N. recognition requires a prospective state to achieve a two-thirds majority at the U.N.

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| June 23, 2012
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Fayyad: Hamas losing support in Gaza, West Bank

PA PM says Gaza-based group avoiding elections because it is pessimistic about results; condemns Netanyahu over settlements.

By JPOST.COM STAFF

 

Hamas has been avoiding elections because it is pessimistic about their outcome, Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad said in an interview with The Washington Post published Friday.

“It is a well-known fact borne out by various opinion polls that there has been a steady erosion in Hamas’s standing, both in the West Bank and Gaza,” Fayyad said. “I believe that is why they have been dodging elections.”

Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad

Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad - Photo: REUTERS/Mohamad Torokman

Fayyad said that it was unacceptable that elections have not been held recently in the Palestinian Authority, calling a vote “overdue” and saying that it is “something I believe is going to happen, and I hope sooner rather than later.”

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Category: Mid-East News | Tags: , , ,
| June 21, 2012
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U.N. silent on Arabs facing death for selling to Jews

Under the framework of the PA’s legal system, selling land to Jews is considered a capital offense. Of the 16 Palestinians incarcerated, seven are employees of the PA, including its security forces.

by Aaron Klein

 

 

TEL AVIV – United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has refused to comment on an epidemic of Palestinians facing the death sentence for selling property to Jews.

ban-ki-moon

WND attempted to obtain a comment on the matter over the course of two weeks.

 

Secretary-General Ban refuses requests for comment

 

 

Martin Nesirky, Ban’s press spokesman, said there has been a decision by the secretary-general’s executive office not to offer any comment on the issue. Continue Reading »

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| June 10, 2012
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Abbas: Free Terrorists, Allow Weapons Imports – Then We’ll Talk

Abbas unveils new pre-talks demands: weapons, terrorist release, and a full freeze on new Israeli housing in Judea and Samaria.

By Maayana Miskin

 

Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas has added to his pre-negotiations demands. After telling Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu to choose “between peace and settlements,” he has reiterated his demand for a full construction freeze, but has added demands that Israel release terrorists and add arms to the PA police force.

“We recently told them that if Israel accepted to free prisoners and allow us to re-arm the police then we would again sit at the same table as Netanyahu,” Abbas said at a press conference in France. Continue Reading »

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: ,
| June 6, 2012
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UNSC asks to visit Palestinian territories

Pakistani ambassador toUN says Security Council mission’s message is one of ‘peace and fact-finding’

 

The 120-member Nonaligned Movement of mainly developing countries says it will ask the UN Security Council to respond favorably to a Palestinian request to visit the Palestinian territories.

Nonaligned Movement says it will urge UNSC to accept invitation Photo: AFP

Nonaligned Movement says it will urge UNSC to accept invitation - Photo: AFP

Pakistan’s UN Ambassador Abdullah Hussain Haroon, whose country is a non-permanent council member, said the Nonaligned Movement decided at a meeting Wednesday to recommend the visit.

The Palestinians invited the Security Council to visit the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem in late February, but the invitation has languished. Continue Reading »

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: ,
| June 6, 2012
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PA Smugglers End up with 90,000 Broken Eggs

PA Arabs try to smuggle 90,000 eggs with faked stamps of approval. Israeli inspectors found them hidden behind mattresses.

An attempt by Palestinian Authority Arabs to smuggle from Samaria (Shomron) 90,000 eggs with faked stamps of approval was foiled by inspectors who found them hidden behind mattresses.

Eggs hidden behind mattresses

Eggs hidden behind mattresses - Israel news photo: Health Department

Illegal trafficking of meat, eggs, vegetables, animals and other items that could endanger the health of millions of Israelis is common at Judea and Samaria checkpoints.

The smugglers apparently thought they might get away scot-free by traveling in the wee hours of the night, but the inspectors were alert and ready. Continue Reading »

Category: Israel News | Tags: ,
| May 30, 2012
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Poll: Majority of Palestinians think PA is corrupt

If new Palestinian elections were held today, West Bank’s ruling Fatah faction would still win, survey reveals.

More than 80 percent of Palestinians believe there is corruption in the Palestinian Authority, but Fatah, the ruling faction in the West Bank, would still win if new elections were held today, according to a public opinion poll published Tuesday.

Fatah member looks at list of candidates [file]

Fatah member looks at list of candidates - Photo: Fadi Arouri / Reuters

The poll, which was conducted by the Jerusalem Media & Communications Center, included 1188 Palestinians who were interviewed face-to-face in the West Bank and Gaza Strip last week. The poll has a margin of error of 3%.

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