Palestinian Homes: Israeli High Court Rules In Favour of Demolitions | Al Jazeera English

Israel is expected to demolish more Palestinian homes. The high court has ruled 60 houses in occupied East Jerusalem should be knocked down.

Palestinians say Israel is trying to settle as many Jews as possible on the edge of Jerusalem’s old city and rename an area the Palestinians consider their capital the City of David.

Al Jazeera's Hoda Abdel-Hamid reports from occupied East Jerusalem.

Inside Story - Can Muslim Leaders Change Trump's Jerusalem Decision?

Jerusalem's status as part of Israel, or Palestine, or both has long been a controversial issue many politicians have shied away from. But Donald Trump changed decades of US policy last week, by recognising the holy city as Israel's capital. That decision set off worldwide protests and condemnation. Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan called a meeting of The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation on Wednesday to discuss a response. He said the US decision was illegal and a threat to all humanity. But what can the 57-member organisation realistically do to pressure the US?

Presenter: Laura Kyle | Guests: Yusuf Kanli - Former Editor of Turkey's Hürriyet Daily News; Gedeon Levy - Columnist with Haaretz newspaper; Mouin Rabbani - Senior Fellow at the Institute for Palestine Studies

Clashes Erupt as Israeli Police Kill Palestinian Suspected of Shooting Jewish Far-rightist

REUTERS.COM: (Reuters) - Israeli police on Thursday shot dead a 32-year-old Palestinian man suspected of having tried hours earlier to kill a far-right Jewish activist, leading to fierce clashes in East Jerusalem and fears of a new Palestinian uprising.

The Al-Aqsa compound, or Temple Mount, which is a central cause of the latest violence, was shut down to all visitors as a security precaution. It was the first full closure of the site, venerated by both Jews and Muslims, in 14 years.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas denounced Israel's actions as "tantamount to a declaration of war" and his Fatah party called for a "day of rage" on Friday. It was not clear if Al Aqsa would be opened to Muslims on their holy day. » | Luke Baker | Jerusalem | Thursday, October 30, 2014

EU 'Deplores’ Israel’s Approval of New Settlements

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: The European Union has urged Israel to backtrack after it approved the building of more than a thousand new homes for settlers in East Jerusalem.

EU diplomacy chief Catherine Ashton on Tuesday “deplored” Israel’s approval of the 1,100 homes and urged the government to reverse its decision.

“Last Friday, the Quartet called on the Israelis and Palestinians to refrain from provocative actions if negotiations are to resume and be effective.”

“I therefore deplore today’s decision to advance settlement expansion in East Jerusalem with approximately 1000 new housing units in Gilo,” she said in a statement.
“I call on the Israeli authorities to reverse this plan.”

Earlier, Ashton told the European parliament that “settlement activity threatens the viability of an agreed two-state solution and runs contrary to the Israeli-stated commitment to resume negotiations”. Read on and comment » | Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Arab Suburbs in East Jerusalem Could Be Rebranded with Hebrew Names
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Arab suburbs in East Jerusalem could be forcibly rebranded with Hebrew names, under plans being considered by Israel's parliament.

The controversial initiative is designed to entrench Israeli "ownership" of East Jerusalem, which was captured by Israel in the Six Day War of 1967 and subsequently annexed – a move that has not been recognised by the international community.

The bill was introduced by Tzippi Hotovely, a prominent hawk in the Likud party of Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister. It is understood to have the support of a majority in the Israeli parliament, the Knesset, which has been accused of passing a series of anti-Palestinian laws in recent years.

Under the bill, Israeli television channels would be instructed to refer to the suburbs only by their new Hebrew names.

"The goal of the initiative is to strengthen the connection with Jerusalem by making it obligatory to give Hebrew names to neighbourhoods in the capital with Jewish residents," Miss Hotovely wrote in her proposal for the bill. "It is important that the neighbourhoods no longer be called by their Arab names." » | Adrian Blomfield, Jerusalem | Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Benjamin Netanyahu Defies Barack Obama's Demands Over East Jerusalem
THE TELEGRAPH: Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, has formally defied a US call to halt Jewish construction in East Jerusalem, according to officials in Washington.

Benjamin Netanyahu with Barack Obama in the Oval Office last month. Photo: The Telegraph
Mr Netanyahu is said to have written to Barack Obama over the weekend officially rejecting his demand to freeze settlement expansion in the city – a move that takes relations between Israel and its superpower patron into uncharted territory.

The Israeli prime minister's response came nearly a month after a tempestuous meeting at the White House in which he was instructed to make a series of confidence-building measures towards the Palestinian leadership.

Until now, Mr Netanyahu has equivocated as he tried to balance the demands of his coalition's right-wing, which urged him to make no compromises, against the intense pressure of the US president.

Although he offered to make some concessions, such as releasing a number of Palestinian prisoners, Mr Netanyahu held firm on the issue of East Jerusalem, which Israel captured and annexed after the Six-Day War of 1967.

Israeli officials, however, denied that their prime minister had made any formal reply to Mr Obama's demands.

"The idea that there was some formal response is just not true," one said.

Mr Netanyahu has made his feelings on East Jerusalem clear in recent days. Stopping construction in the city's Jewish settlements is "totally, totally a non-starter", he told the US television network ABC on Sunday. >>> Adrian Blomfield in Jerusalem | Thursday, April 22, 2010

Binyamin Netanyahu Tells US: We Won't Stop East Jerusalem Settlement Building
THE GUARDIAN: Israeli prime minister defiant ahead of visit from US special envoy, George Mitchell, despite deadlock in peace talks

Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu has reportedly told the US administration that his government will not stop settlement construction in east Jerusalem, despite US pressure and long-running deadlock in peace talks.

The message was delivered to US officials at the weekend, according to reports by AP and the Wall Street Journal, and comes ahead of a visit to the Middle East by George Mitchell, the US special envoy, later today.

Mark Regev, a spokesman for Netanyahu, would not discuss the details of Israel's talks with the US administration but he said: "We want this process to succeed and to see the restart of talks. We hope that this is possible soon."

Earlier this week Netanyahu insisted again that construction in east Jerusalem would continue. "The Palestinian demand is that we prevent Jews from building in Jewish neighbourhoods in Jerusalem. That is an unacceptable demand. If we made it in London or made it in New York or in Paris, people would cry foul," he told US television network ABC.

He admitted there were outstanding issues with the US. "We're trying to resolve them through diplomatic channels in the best way that we can," Netanyahu said. >>> Rory McCarthy in Jerusalem | Thursday, April 22, 2010

Obama’s Smarm >>>

Hillary Clinton Tells Israel to Stop 'Settlement Activity' and Provoking Palestine
THE TELEGRAPH: Hillary Clinton has said Israel must stop 'settlement activity' and steer clear of comments that will provoke Palestinians.

The US Secretary of State urged "bold leadership" from all sides to resolve one of the world's most intractable disputes.

Speaking at a dinner attended by the ambassadors of Israel and several Arab states, Mrs Clinton urged Israel to "refrain from unilateral statements and actions" that could undermine peace.

"Prime Minister [Benjamin] Netanyahu has embraced the vision of the two-state solution," she said.

"But easing up on access and movement in the West Bank, in response to credible Palestinian security performance, is not sufficient to prove to the Palestinians that this embrace is sincere.

"We encourage Israel to continue building momentum toward a comprehensive peace by demonstrating respect for the legitimate aspirations of the Palestinians, stopping settlement activity and addressing the humanitarian needs in Gaza." >>> Telegraph’s Foreign Staff | Friday, April 16, 2010

Obama’s Gift to Radicals
YNET NEWS: Given US president’s policy, it doesn’t pay to be moderate these days

The American president’s tough approach towards Israel and the turning of Jerusalem into a public bone of contention constitute an unexpected gift to the Middle East’s radical regimes. It doesn’t pay to be moderate these days. If the US president is so radical towards Israel, how could the Arabs afford to be more moderate than him?

There was always construction in east Jerusalem, yet the Arab world did not turn it into a major slogan, yet it’s happening at this time because of Obama, among other reasons. The US president also prompted Palestinian positions to get tougher in a hurry. After all, they cannot demand less than he does.

If during the Bush Administration, the Palestinians engaged in negotiations with Israel without addressing the settlements at all, while their construction continued, during Obama’s era they have demanded a freeze, then a full freeze, including Jerusalem, and now they want a complete stop.

This is turning from Palestinian-Israeli negotiations into American coercion vis-à-vis Israel, and the Palestinian demands in respect to borders and refugees will only grow now.

Without noticing it, Obama also internationalized the conflict again and brought in all the Mideast’s troublemakers as partners: The Arab League headed by the radical Amr Moussa, the Arab states’ monitoring committee, and in fact all Arab regimes, with all their animosities and disagreements.

Arab League Secretary General Moussa, a blatant Israel-hater, is now in charge of approving or rejecting Mahmoud Abbas’ moves. The Arab League is now a super-negotiator, against Israel, thereby being granted a veto power. Did Moussa speak of the Iranian nuclear threat in the recent summit meeting in Libya? The opposite was true: He recommended dialogue with Tehran, while warning of Israel’s nuclear threat. Outdated, false doctrine >>> Guy Bechor | Sunday, April 04, 2010

Binyamin Netanyahu: We will Continue to Build in Jerusalem
Photograph: Times Online
TIMES ONLINE: Binyamin Netanyahu insisted today that he will not halt building projects in east Jerusalem, despite calls by the US for him to do so.

The defiant statement came after the Israeli Prime Minister returned from a bruising visit to the White House, where he was given a public dressing down for his controversial settlement policy.

"The Prime Minister's position is that there is no change in Israel's policy on Jerusalem that has been pursued by all governments of Israel for the last 42 years," his office said in a statement.

Those include implementing a strict freeze on construction of Jewish settlements in the West Bank, Israeli troops withdrawing to areas they occupied before the beginning of the Palestinian Intifada ten years ago, and the release of Palestinian prisoners.

Mr Netanyahu's spokesman, Nir Hefez, said that the US had not agreed to allow Israeli to continue building in east Jerusalem, which was captured by Israel in the 1967 Arab-Israeli war and is now home to 200,000 Israelis. He had earlier hinted that such a deal was possible, but later retracted the statement.

Analysts in Israel agree that Mr Netanyahu faces a choice of which crisis he wants to contend with: he can bow to the US demands and risk a split with hardline nationalists and ultra-Orthodox parties in his coalition, or stick to his guns and face down an increasingly hostile US administration at a time when Israel needs US backing to tackle a potentially nuclear Iran. >>> James Hider in Jerusalem | Friday, March 26, 2010

Israel Approves East Jerusalem Construction

Israel 'Spits in Obama's Eye' by Announcing New Settlements in East Jerusalem
THE TELEGRAPH: Israel was accused of "spitting in Obama's eye" after it announced plans to build 100 more settler homes in east Jerusalem just hours after Israel's prime minister met the US president at the White House.

Municipal officials approved the Jewish housing project in one of Jerusalem's most volatile Palestinian suburbs just hours before Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, met Mr Obama for emergency talks.

US officials had hoped that a meeting between the two leaders could defuse tensions triggered when Israel announced plans to build 1,600 new homes in east Jerusalem's Ramat Shlomo settlement during a visit earlier this month by Joe Biden, the US vice-president.

But in the days leading up to the meeting, Mr Netanyahu defiantly rejected US demands to reverse the expansion of Ramat Shlomo and halt all building in east Jerusalem, which Israel captured in the 1967 Six-Day war.

That Israel then approved a new building project, the suspension of which the United States had demanded as long ago as last July, can only have infuriated Mr Obama.

The meeting at the White House was the iciest between an American president and an Israeli premier in recent years. Mr Netanyahu was treated to a series of small but calculated diplomatic slights that left him in no doubt of the White House's displeasure.

There were no photographs before or after the meeting, no questions from reporters and no press briefing or "readout" afterwards.

The “honest and straightforward discussion” ended with areas of “disagreement”, according to Robert Gibbs, the White House spokesman, who added that US officials were seeking “clarification” of Israel’s plan for a further expansion of Jewish housing.

But an Israeli government spokesman sought to put a brave face on the encounter, saying: “the atmosphere was good”.

But the evidence suggested it was anything but. The meeting itself was in two parts: an initial 89-minute session followed by a further 35 minutes at Mr Netanyahu's request, after he had consulted his officials. >>> Adrian Blomfield in Jerusalem and Toby Harnden in Washington | Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Verbunden:

Kühler Empfang für Netanyahu im Weissen Haus: Israels Regierungschef verteidigt Wohnungsbau in Ostjerusalem >>> ddp/sda/Reuters | Mittwoch, 24. März 2010

Silence That Speaks Volumes: Blackout as Israel’s Leader Leaves White House
An ultra-Orthodox boy looks at a poster showing President Obama receiving a medal from an unidentified Arab leader. The Hebrew on the poster reads: 'Warning! PLO agent in the White House!' Photograph: Times Online
TIMES ONLINE: Two separate meetings between President Obama and Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli Prime Minister, failed today to produce so much as an official photograph as a deep chill settled over US-Israeli relations and secrecy shrouded any efforts to repair them.

The Israeli Prime Minister was due to fly home from Washington after three days marked by fierce Israeli defiance on the issue of settlements and an extraordinary silence maintained by both sides after his three-and-a-half hour visit to the White House.

The meeting was overshadowed by Israeli approval for 20 new apartments being built for Jews in Arab east Jerusalem — a move denounced by one senior US official as “exactly what we expect Prime Minister Netanyahu to get control of”.

White House staff denied Mr Netanyahu the usual photo opportunities afforded a visiting leader, issued only the vaguest summary of their talks — let alone a joint statement — and reversed a decision to release an official photo of their meetings. >>> Giles Whittell, Washington | Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Hillary Clinton Warns of Gulf in US-Israeli Relations
THE TELEGRAPH: Hillary Clinton has warned Israel that it was creating a gulf in its relationship with the United States, escalating a row over plans to expand a Jewish settlement in East Jerusalem.

Hillary Clinton, the US secretary of state, ordered Benjamin Netanyahu to reverse a decision to build 1,600 homes for Israeli settlers. Photograph: The Telegraph
Delivering an unexpectedly robust address to America's most powerful pro-Israel lobby, the US secretary of state sent a strong signal that the Obama administration would not back down in its two-week stand-off with Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister.

Speaking as Mr Netanyahu arrived in Washington for high-level talks, Mrs Clinton cautioned that Israel's refusal to halt construction in the territories it occupied after the 1967 Six-Day [War] was emboldening its enemies.

She also hinted for the first time that the United States could reduce its role in the Middle East peace process if Mr Netanyahu did not bow to demands that he reverse a controversial housing project in predominantly Arab East Jerusalem.

"New construction in East Jerusalem or the West Bank undermines mutual trust," she told members of the AIPAC lobby group.

"It exposes daylight between Israel and the United States that others in the region hope to exploit. And it undermines America's unique ability to play a role – an essential role, I might add – in the peace process."

Mrs Clinton's implicit rebuke sets the stage for an intriguing encounter between President Barack Obama and Mr Netanyahu at the White House on Tuesday evening. >>> Adrian Blomfield in Jerusalem and Rob Crilly | Monday, March 22, 2010

Binyamin Netanyahu Pushes Barack Obama into a Corner with Settlement Plan
TIMES ONLINE: Israel’s plans to have one last burst of settlement building in the West Bank before agreeing to a temporary, partial freeze is a slap in the face to the Obama Administration and a warning to the Palestinians that it intends to fight for every inch of land.

Binyamin Netanyahu’s refusal to include east Jerusalem — captured in the Six Day War — in any future settlement freeze suggests that Israel is trying to push the Palestinians into a checkmate situation.

The Palestinians demand east Jerusalem, still predominantly populated by Palestinians, as their future capital. An expansion of settlements ringing the city could cut it off from the Palestinian hinterland and slice the West Bank in two.

From the outset relations between the Netanyahu and Obama administrations have been testy. The new Israeli Government was at first shocked by Washington’s insistence on a total settlement freeze — something that has never happened in 16 years of peace negotiations, during which the Jewish communities in the West Bank have grown inexorably.

Israel has tried to persuade Washington to allow “natural growth” in the settlements, where about 300,000 people live in neat, red-tiled villas perched on strategic hilltops across the West Bank, known to Israelis as Judea and Samaria. When that failed it tried to rebrand “natural growth” as “normal life” but the Americans still refused. The latest announcement puts Washington in a difficult position — >>> James Hider: Analysis | Saturday, September 05, 2009

Words Aren’t Enough
YNET NEWS: Obama has failed to sweep Israelis, Arabs because his message has remained vague

WASHINGTON – Barak [sic] Obama has been unable to sweep public opinion in Israel, and not because he did not bother to travel to Tel Aviv or Jerusalem or directly address the people. He has failed because his message is vague and it does not enable Israelis to understand what his next steps are, and how exactly we will be seeing the light at the end of the tunnel.

Obama was elected US president mostly because he knew how to produce what the American public so direly needed: Hope. Yet among Middle East residents, Obama has been unable to produce hope, because he has not presented an orderly plan accompanied by a timetable. Obama said that the two-state vision is the solution. President Bush also said it before him, yet for eight years nothing happened.

Obama's Chief of Staff, Rahm Emanuel, boasts that he spent his summer vacations on the beach in Tel Aviv. Yet even he cannot explain to his boss the essence of Israeliness: When you push Israelis into a corner, their response is reflected by two constitutive statements: "I won't be a sucker" on the one hand, and "I'll show you who's the boss" on the other hand.

When Obama pressured Israel and demanded that it curb settlement construction without indicating what the other side needs to do, he failed to move Israelis to his side; not even the ones who support his policy and automatically applaud any peace plan. The more he presses, the more assertive they'll become, while also showing him they won't be the neighborhood's sucker.

This Israeli disdain can easily turn into willingness to face a challenge, even if the price is heavy: Israelis only want to know there's a reason to do it.

Meanwhile, Obama also failed to give hope to the Palestinians and to Arab residents of east Jerusalem: He did not present a message that would prompt people to rally around it, such as what the Palestinian state will look like, what will its relationship with Israel be like, what will security guarantees be like, and what will Mideastern residents gain by backing Obama. >>> Orly Azoulay | August 04, 2009

Clinton Slams Israel for Evicting Arab Families from East Jerusalem
HAARETZ: U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Monday criticized Israel for the eviction two Palestinian families from an Arab neighborhood in east Jerusalem, calling the move "deeply regrettable".

"The eviction of families and demolition of homes in east Jerusalem is not in keeping with Israeli obligations and I urge the government of Israel and municipal officials to refrain from such provocative actions," Clinton said.

The evictions came after the Supreme Court ruled that the houses belonged to Jews and that the Arab families had been living there illegally. Clinton's statements came during a meeting in Washington with Jordanian Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh, who told Clinton that incremental confidence-building measures that the U.S. wants Arab states to take will not produce a resolution to the conflict.

Jordan rejects U.S. call for improved ties with Israel

Jordan on Monday joined Saudi Arabia in publicly rejecting U.S. appeals to improve relations with Israel to help restart Middle East peace talks, throwing a damper on the Obama administration's push for Arab support behind new negotiations. >>> Natasha Mozgovaya, Barak Ravid Haaretz Correspondents, and The Associated Press | Tuesday, August 04, 2009 Hillary Clinton