Israel 'to Build 3,000 New Settler Homes in Wake of Palestinian UN Bid'
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Israel is to build 3,000 new settler homes in east Jerusalem and the West Bank after the Palestinians won recognition as a non-member state at the United Nations, according to reports.

An Israeli official, when pressed by AFP, France's national news agency, confirmed a report that Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, had decided to build the 3,000 units in response to the Palestinian success at the UN.

The decision was revealed in a tweet by the diplomatic correspondent of Haaretz newspaper, who said some of the homes would be built in E1, a highly-contentious area of the West Bank which links annexed east Jerusalem with Maaleh Adumim settlement. » | Friday, November 30, 2012

Europe Threatens to Recognise Palestinian State
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Europe's foreign ministers have threatened to recognise an independent Palestinian state to punish Israeli refusal to halt "illegal" Jewish settlements.

A text, seen by The Daily Telegraph, warned of EU "readiness, when appropriate, to recognize a Palestinian state" increasing the international pressure on Israel following the effective collapse of direct Middle East peace talks last week.

Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian president, on Monday called "on the EU to take a step towards recognition of the state of Palestine based on the 1967 borders".

"We hope that the EU will take this step to maintain the requirements for the success of the peace process, which was thwarted by Israel," said Saeb Erakat, the chief Palestinian negotiator.

There has been a week of intense EU diplomacy after an initiative by the so-called "quint" of Britain, France, Germany, Italy and the US, to push Israel into negotiations.

"There is growing frustration with Israel after its refusal to commit to a new settlements freeze and patience is running out," said a European diplomat. >>> Adrian Blomfield in Jerusalem and Bruno Waterfield in Brussels | Monday, December 13, 2010

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

Settlers Attack West Bank Mosque and Burn Holy Muslim Books
The mosque set on fire in the West Bank village of Kfar Yasuf, south of Nablus. Photograph: Times Online
TIMES ONLINE: Suspected extremist Jewish settlers today attacked a mosque in the northern West Bank, burning holy books and spraying threatening graffiti in Hebrew on the building, Palestinian officials and Israeli police said.

Extremists broke into the mosque in the village of Yasuf, near the city of Nablus, and burned Korans and copies of the Hadith, or sayings of the Prophet Muhammad, and prayer carpets, while spraying slogans on the floor reading “Price tag – greetings from Effi.”

A pile of ash on a scorched carpet was all that remained of around 100 holy books, The Times found.

The so-called 'price tag' is the hardline Jewish settlers’ policy of attacking Palestinians and their property in retribution for any Israeli government curb on settlement expansion. Effi is a Jewish name.

Hardliners are furious that the right-wing government of Binyamin Netanyahu has given in to US pressure to try and enforce a temporary freeze on the construction of Jewish settlements in the West Bank, where some 300,000 settlers live. It is feared that the attack may be the beginning of an intensified campaign against the government by the settlers.

While the attackers escaped, the Israeli government was quick to condemn the attack. "This is an extremist act geared toward harming the government's efforts to advance the political process for the sake of Israel's future," said Ehud Barak, the Israeli defence minister, whose department is overseeing the freeze.

When they discovered the desecration of their mosque, Palestinian villagers started throwing stones at Israeli soldiers, whom they often accuse of complicity with settlers when they carry out such attacks on them and their olive orchards. Two Palestinians and an Israeli soldier were hurt in the clashes.

There have been rising tensions since Mr Netanyahu announced the proposed freeze last month, in an effort to meet US and Palestinian demands for a total halt on settlement construction, deemed illegal by the international community but often backed by the Israeli state. >>> James Hider in Yasuf | Friday, December 11, 2009

Netanyahu Stands Firm Against Demands from Barack Obama
THE TELEGRAPH: Israel stood firm against demands from Barack Obama on Monday to cease the construction of Jewish settlements and embrace the "two-state solution" to achieving peace in the Middle East.

Barack Obama meets with Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu in the Oval Office. Photo courtesy of The Telegraph
Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, in his first meeting with the US president, made it clear that while he welcomed Mr Obama's commitment to the region, he was more concerned about dealing with the threat of Iran than peace talks.

Mr Obama was unable to secure any commitments on ceasing the construction of Jewish settlements in the West Bank or embracing the "two-state solution" to achieving peace in the Middle East.

Sitting side by side in the White House, the two leaders hailed the friendship between their two countries but remained far apart on how to proceed towards a resolution of the 60-year conflict between Israel and the Palestinians. >>> By Alex Spillius in Washington | Monday, May 18, 2009