Peace Now today released the 'Migron File' - a comprehensive dossier containing all the facts and figures, aerial photos and copies of legal documents related to the illegal outpost of Migron (which the Netanyahu government is working frantically to find a way to legalize).

The "Migron File" can be viewed online or downloaded here.

Netanyahu urges residents of illegal West Bank outpost to accept compromise offer and move to new neighborhood on State-owned land. Settlers: He's learned nothing from Gaza pullout

(excerpt)

Peace Now Director Yariv Oppenheimer called Netanyahu's offer a "cynical spin that is aimed at thwarting the implementation of the court's decision and delaying the outpost's evacuation by several years.

Read the entire article

"Elkin's cooperation with right-wing extremists is even more dangerous than MKs aboard the [Gaza-bound] Marmara flotilla [in 2010]," (Peace Now Secretary General Yariv) Oppenheimer said.

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By LAHAV HARKOV AND MELANIE LIDMAN
01/09/2012 02:52



Rightist MKs condemn indictments against activists.

The State of Israel is changing before our eyes dramatically, and the prime minister must decide whether he wants to stop the deterioration or remain a partner to it.

New route would link northeast neighborhoods to capital's main Begin Boulevard; Peace Now: Plan is illegal use of occupied land, endangers two-state solution.

By Akiva Eldar

Man wrote hate e-mails to numerous Peace Now activists including director Yariv Oppenheimer.

A 21-year-old man who has already been indicted for various "price-tag" attacks, including several against activists and employees of Peace Now, was arrested again on Sunday night in connection with death threats he sent via e-mail to members of the organization yesterday.

Police suspect 21-year-old linked to previous price-tag attacks; Peace now dir.-gen. says he received death threat.

Peace Now filed a complaint with police Sunday evening over a series of so-called "price-tag" attacks, which were carried out against the organization's activists.

A number of the organization's leading activists, including Director-General Yariv Oppenheimer, were sent death threats to their personal e-mail accounts on Sunday evening.

By ZELDA HARRIS
11/14/2011

There can never be social justice in a country with restrictive and anti-democratic laws that strengthen antagonism.

I love Hayarkon Park. It's very close to my home, so I was pleased to accept an invitation last Friday to a Peace Now meeting held in the park's Council for a Beautiful Israel Center.

Peace Now Director Yariv Oppenheimer said that "Israeli democracy has been surrendered to right-wing extremists and is in a state of bankruptcy."

Read the entire article

"...it is shocking to see Israel's democratic government propose measures that could silence its own critics."

The outpost, Derekh Ha'avot, established early 2001 and is home to about 35 families; according to report 60 percent of the community is on Palestinian farmland.

By Chaim Levinson

"Today the government made it clear that it is not the law that rules in Israel, but the law breakers" (Michael Sfard, attorney for Peace Now and Yesh Din)

Peace Now's Yariv Oppenheimer: "The government is trying to stifle the law and does not care about the position of the attorney-general, who determined that the proposed law is unconstitutional," said Oppenheimer. "Israeli democracy has been surrendered to right-wing extremists and is in a state of bankruptcy."

Ha'aretz: "Peace Now activist Ofran: 'We must not fear. We are here, and we are many'"

Jerusalem Post: "16 years on: Annual Tel Aviv rally remembers Rabin"


Prominent speakers included Hagit Ofran, director of Peace Now's Settlement Watch project: "The graffiti was sprayed in my home, but the taunts are in all of our stairwells. The tag may have marked me, but we all pay the price. We must not fear. We are here, and we are many.

by Trudy Rubin, Inquirer Opinion Columnist

JERUSALEM - When Hagit Ofran woke up Tuesday - within days of the 16th anniversary of the murder of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin - she found death threats spray-painted on her door.

(Ofran is pictured on her stairwell amidst the graffiti-ed death threats)

In recent weeks members of Congress have written to UNESCO to let leaders of that organization know that upgrading the status of the PLO will jeopardize U.S. funding to that organization. On 10/5/11, Rep. Granger (R-TX), Chair of the Appropriations Committee's Foreign Operations subcommittee, issued a statement warning UNESCO that upgrading the PLO's status could lead to a cut-off of U.S. funding. Rep. Lowey (D-NY), ranking minority member on the ForOps subcommittee, issued a similar statement on 10/5/11.

Lara Freedman, director of policy and government relations with Americans for Peace Now, blamed strong pro-Israel lobbying by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, and American Jewish and right-wing Christian communities.

"The narrative that says that 'the Palestinians' decision to go to the UN is a form of diplomatic terrorism that cannot go unpunished' has firmly taken root," she said.

"It is all under dispute and anything beyond the 1967 lines needs to be established under international law," Ofra said. "In the big settlements there is constantly construction. These are massive cities that are treated as such by Israel." She added, however, that smaller outposts in the West Bank - often consisting of several trailer homes and a cabin on a hilltop - are also seeing a push in growth.

"The settlement movement is consistently growing," she said.

"The status quo - in which Israel continues to pursue policies that are anathema to the two-state solution and in which the Obama administration is unable or unwilling to exercise convincing leadership to restore credibility to its peace policy - will lead only to further isolation and marginalisation of both Israel and the United States in the international community," the group (Americans for Peace Now) warned.

Peace Now's Hagit Ofran accused Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat of "playing with fire in the most sensitive place." She said that handled poorly, without coordination and discussion with Muslim authorities, the issue could cause massive disturbances.

By MELANIE LIDMAN

Ynet reports that Netanyahu's government expects to push forward plans to build 1,400 housing units in the area of Givat Hamatos in southern Jerusalem. Peace Now said this will expand the borders of Jerusalem towards Bethlehem. Read more here.

Read APN's response to the Givat Hamatos plan.

Read an analysis of the project here.

NY Times: "Israel Plans to Build More Housing in East Jerusalem"

Arutz 7: "New Jewish Neighborhood Planned in Jerusalem"

Democracy Now: "Israeli Peace Group Condemns Government Plans for Jerusalem Settlement Expansion"

Guardian: "Israel plans new settlement of 2,600 that will isolate Arab East Jerusalem"

LA Times: "Israel unveils new housing project on disputed Jerusalem land"

Jewish Journal (Reuters): "Peace Now: Israel planning new East Jerusalem settlement"

AFP: "Israel to build new east Jerusalem district says settlement watchdog Peace Now"

By YAAKOV LAPPIN

A timeline of attacks in June and September.

• September 12 - Death threats, far-right graffiti sprayed in stairwell near the home of Peace Now activist in Jerusalem.

http://www.jpost.com/NationalNews/Article.aspx?id=240432

Peace Now's Yariv Oppenheimer: "As far as Netanyahu is concerned, the world, the rule of law and Israel's political interests are null and void vis-à-vis the settlers wish to determine facts on the ground and ruin any chance for separating from the Palestinians.

by Yair Altman

The Americans for Peace Now website is reporting that other House Republicans also are holding the money, and that Republicans in the House and Senate are holding $150 million in security assistance to the Palestinian Authority.

Peace Now's Hagit Ofran, who heads the Settlement Watch Team, said that though Gilo will probably be part of Israel in a final-status agreement, no building should go on until the agreement is reached. "If we don't want the Palestinians to do things unilaterally, we also can't do things unilaterally,"

By MELANIE LIDMAN

Peace Now secretary-general Yariv Oppenheimer said that if the defense
establishment decides to ask the courts for an extension, it will be playing
into the hands of the people behind the price-tag attacks.

By YAAKOV KATZ

Lawmakers Falling Over One Another to Prove Pro-Israel Credentials

By Nathan Guttman

Washington -- A congressional drive to punish the Palestinian Authority for its statehood bid by cutting American aid is being greeted with enthusiasm by lawmakers of both parties.

But the White House is giving the move a cold shoulder, and even Israel itself and its strongest supporters have serious reservations.

Despite months of hype, the UN vote will in all likelihood disappoint; the American embrace of Israel is more a matter of President Obama's domestic considerations than any newfound love for Prime Minister Netanyahu.

By Barak Ravid and Natasha Mozgovaya

By MELANIE LIDMAN
27/09/2011

Project to build units in J'lem neighborhood over Green Line has been slammed by left-wing groups Ir Amim and Peace Now.

Lawmakers Falling Over One Another to Prove Pro-Israel Credentials

By Nathan Guttman

Washington -- A congressional drive to punish the Palestinian Authority for its statehood bid by cutting American aid is being greeted with enthusiasm by lawmakers of both parties.

Ha'aretz: "U.S. Jews give Obama mixed reviews for 'pro-Israel' UN speech"

JTA: "Obama's U.N. speech--another 'get real' moment"

"Regrettably, the president's words offered very little in the way of hope to Israelis and Palestinians," Americans for Peace Now said.

Tablet: "Disappointment is the Byword of the Left"

(APN) spokesperson Ori Nir told me: "There was nothing substantial that he offered the Palestinians to keep them from pursuing their U.N. action."

Lara Friedman is Director of Policy and Government Relations at Americans for Peace Now

Israeli diplomats, AIPAC, and other groups on the American Jewish and Christian right are learning a tough lesson today: Be careful what you tell Congress to do on Israel, because it might come back to bite you.

NEW YORK (JTA) -- U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice briefed a dozen American Jewish leaders on the American efforts to avert the Palestinian bid for statehood in the U.N.

(The article indicates that APN Chairman Martin Bresler was reported present.)

Read the article

Posted by Jack Silverman

Contrary to popular belief, not all Zionists oppose the creation of a Palestinian state. In fact, many ardent supporters of Israel believe that a two-state solution is the only way to secure Israel's future.

Tonight at 7 p.m., Congregation Ohabai Shalom (aka "The Temple"), hosts Martin I. Bresler, chair of Americans for Peace Now, a Zionist organization that advocates for a two-state solution. The Temple is at 5015 Harding Road. The event is free and open to the public.

YNET: "Construction Controversy?"

Maan News: "Peace Now: Settlement building doubles since freeze"

Arutz 7: "Council of 'Settlers' Thanks Peace Now"

"Kiryat Arba is a symbol of racism. Artists and performers have no business there," said Peace Now Secretary-General Yariv Oppenheimer.

by Akiva Novick

Ha'aretz: "Shin Bet: Israel's extreme rightists organizing into terror groups"

YNET: "Price tag: Peace Now activist's entryway vandalized"

Jerusalem Post: "Activist's home vandalized in latest 'price tag' attack"
(full article in this post)

Hagit Ofran of Peace Now slammed the municipality for "continuing to ignore the courts' orders, and enabling this illegal and provocative settlement in Silwan, which constitutes a point of daily friction and a heavy security burden upon Jerusalem police.

"This by itself is enough to justify the eviction of the settlers," she told AFP.

1 September 2011

Read the article

JURIST Guest Columnist Shlomy Zachary of the Michael Sfard Law Offices in Israel says that the recent Israeli Supreme Court ruling ordering the demolition of the Migron outpost in the West Bank was an obvious one under Israeli and international law and was necessary to uphold the rule of law...

Windows of mosque in Qusra smashed and graffiti sprayed in Hebrew following demolition of outpost homes in Migron

by Harriet Sherwood in Jerusalem

Hagit Ofran, of Peace Now, an Israeli organisation which monitors settlement activity, said: "We hope the army is making clear that non-violent protest is legitimate and no settlers should use any violence against unarmed demonstrators."

Read the entire article

"This is a person who seems to support Israel, but he is a fanatic..." Etai Mizrav of Peace Now said.

Yariv Oppenheimer, Peace Now Secretary General: "We came to protest against this show of Glenn Beck, I think he tried to use the tension in this city for his career...We need friends who come from abroad to support the idea of two states, of sharing Jerusalem a capital for two states, for the Palestinians and the Israelis, and not people who come here just to provoke."

Defense Minister Ehud Barak has approved the building of 277 apartments the West Bank settlement of Ariel, defying U.S. criticism of continued settlement construction

By Chaim Levinson, Reuters and The Associated Press

Yariv Oppenheimer, a spokesman for Peace Now, an anti-settlement Israeli advocacy group, called the Ariel project "a very negative move that shows the Israeli government has no intention to speak to the Palestinians but wants to confront them and the international community."

Read the entire article: http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/palestinians-ariel-construction-destroys-remnants-of-peace-efforts-1.378762

Americans for Peace Now urged "all parties to the conflict to do their utmost to curb violence and to prevent further escalation."

By Douglas Bloomfield

Read the entire article: www.thejewishweek.com/blogs/political_insider/washington_reacts_sinai_terror

Barbara Green is an activist and volunteer with Americans for Peace Now out of the national office in Washington, D.C. Earlier in 2011, she coordinated APN's Study Tour to Israel.

By GIL HOFFMAN

Peace Now: MKs should boycott Beck's planned J'lem rally, condemn comments made on show entitled "Radical leftists protest in Israel."

Peace Now on Monday called upon Knesset members to boycott Glenn Beck's August 24 Jerusalem rally after Beck compared the reported 200,000 people who attended the August 6 housing rally in Tel Aviv to Communists.

Continue Reading

"...supporters of Peace Now understand all too well that resources have been invested in the settlement enterprise at the expense of providing housing in Israel proper. We understand that maintaining the settlement enterprise costs Israel civilians an estimated NIS 8 billion annually."

YNET: "930 Har Homa housing units okayed"
Interior Ministry authorizes major Jerusalem construction plan beyond Green Line on backdrop of housing protest

Jerusalem Post: "Interior Ministry approves 930 new units in Har Homa"

AFP: "Israel approves 900 E.Jerusalem settlement homes"

In response to a petition filed by the Peace Now movement, Israel's Supreme Court issued an unprecedented ruling ordering the state to dismantle the largest illegal settlement outpost in the West Bank by April 2012.

See links to articles in the Israeli, U.S., and International press.

At least three liberal US Jewish groups have expressed support for burgeoning social justice protests in Israel. The New Israel Fund is helping to fund tent camp protests in major cities.

Ameinu, a progressive Zionist group, wrote an open letter to the various protest groups. "The nationwide protests in which you are engaging are an inspiration to those of us who strive for social justice and freedom of economic opportunity in the United States and around the world," the letter said.

In a front-page blog post on its website, Americans for Peace Now linked the housing protests to government subsidies for West Bank settlements.

http://www.jpost.com/Headlines/Article.aspx?id=232096

Excerpts and link to: Ha'aretz: "Knesset votes down proposal to probe funding of leftist NGOs" follows those of the Post article.

Tuesday, July 19, 2011

The Palestinian leadership seems determined to bring its case for statehood to the U.N. in September. The details remain unknown, but that hasn't stopped pundits and groups from staking out hard-line positions opposing the effort.

READ APN'S PRESS RELEASE HERE

Forward: "APN Calls for Boycott of Products Made in the West Bank"

JTA: "U.S. Jewish groups against Israel's boycott law consulting on next steps"

JTA Blog: "Americans for Peace Now: We'll boycott the anti-boycott law by boycotting settlement products"

NEWLY ADDED: Jerusalem Post: "OU president slams US Jewish groups over anti-boycott law"

Backers of a new Israeli law penalizing anyone who targets Israel or West Bank settlements for boycotts tout it as a tool to fight back against anti-Israel campaigns, but American Jewish organizations seem remarkably united in deeming the measure an affront to freedom of expression.

Continue Reading...

Peace Now's actions immediately received a massive amount of coverage in Israel and internationally.

See articles with links, plus the full English translations of Yedioth Ahronoth: "They Boycotted the Boycott" and Ma'ariv: "Peace Now: Boycott Settlement Goods"

Ha'aretz: "U.S. on Israeli boycott law: Freedom to protest is a basic democratic right"

YNET: "Knesset braces for 'Boycott bill' vote"

By KHALED ABU TOAMEH

Erekat: "We hope Quartet meeting will come out with serious statement that focuses on the two-state solution on basis of 1967 borders."

"The bill will turn the Knesset into the thought police for Israeli society, and will mortally hurt the principle of the freedom of speech," said Peace Now Secretary General Yariv Oppenheimer.

by Zvika Brott

A plan for 30 housing units in the Ras Al-Amud neighborhood of Jerusalem was deposited for review last week, in the first step of the approval process for the newest east Jerusalem housing project for Jewish residents, Peace Now reported.

Peace Now sent black flags to all 120 Knesset members yesterday in protest and as a warning of the infringement on the freedom of expression.

Peace Now chairman Yariv Oppenheimer said Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak were going to great lengths to legalize isolated outposts deep in the territories, even if this involves land expropriations, but "as far as evictions are concerned, the state is dragging its feet." He said this will encourage settlers to keep building illegally.

By Chaim Levinson

Actor and activist Leonard Nimoy's letter in support of a two-state solution and Americans for Peace Now has made news around the globe (and probably inter-galactically given the postings on "trekmovie.com" and "TrekToday").

See headlines and links to all the articles.

Yes, Hamas is a terrorist organization, but simply asserting that fact is not a policy.

'Tis the season. The season when members of Congress are lobbied hard to support positions presented to them as the epitome of "pro-Israel" - but that in fact are anything but.

By YAAKOV KATZ
05/18/2011

Proposal drafted following Itamar terror attack would cost NIS 1 billion over coming year; Peace Now says plan is proof PM not interested in real peace.

Peace Now Secretary-General Yariv Oppenheimer slammed the approval of a hearing on Har Homa construction.

"The prime minister is sacrificing relations with the US for the benefit of his loyalty to settlers and rightists in Jerusalem. This is not just miserable timing, but a miserable policy which endangers Israel's status in the world," he said. (Ronen Medzini)

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4071079,00.html

5/19/11

Op-ed: Radical leftists, rightists both hurting two-state vision; Israel's mainstream must unite

Yariv Oppenheimer is the Secretary General of Peace Now

Jerusalem Post: "PM pledges to work with Obama to renew peace talks"

Jewish Journal: "Americans for Peace Now to AIPAC: Support Obama's Two-State Push"

JTA: "From praise to anger, Jewish response to Obama's speech runs the gamut"

Arab News: "Palestine should have '67 border, says Obama"

Jewish Journal: "Obama's Middle East speech draws ire and support"

Although the approval was granted at the end of April, it was first publicized in the last few days - including by Peace Now on Sunday - as part of an overall report on settlement activity.

According to Peace Now, that 390 included: 200 in Modi'in Illit, 100 in Ariel, 40 in Ma'aleh Adumim and 50 in Kfar Eldad.

"...history will show that the most pro-Israel U.S. president was not the one who provided the most weapons to Israel and vetoed the most UN Security Council resolutions, but the one who brought peace, and with it, real security, to Israel, and independence to the Palestinian people."

Americans for Peace Now seems to think it could be a game changer, and is concerned that Obama will miss a big opportunity if he ignores the issue in his upcoming address.

"The time has come for the President to grab the bull by the horns and take dramatic action..." Debra DeLee, APN's president, said today in a statement.

by ADAM KREDO

APN is referred to in the following:

NY Jewish Week: "Political Insider / Mitchell quitting; what took so long?" by James Besser

The Nation: "George Mitchell Quits as ME Envoy" by Robert Dreyfuss

Jerusalem Post: "US Mideast envoy Mitchell quits after 2 years" by Hilary Leila Krieger

Americans for Peace Now urged the Obama administration not to squander what it said was an opportunity to advance the peace process, saying any new government should be judged by its actions and not by the positions of its component parties.

As much as it is about divine intervention, miracle, and faith in God, the story of Passover is about leadership and courage.

For the Sea of Reeds to miraculously part, one of the Israelites had to take the first step in. That person, according to tradition, was Nachshon. He dived into the spray without assurance that the sea would split. He knew that if the sea didn't recede, he would drown, and that turning back would mean certain death for him and his fellow Israelites at the hands of Pharaoh's advancing army.

Only days before President Peres was to meet with President Obama in Washington, Israel made a significant announcement about increased housing construction in settlements. See excerpts and links to the following articles:

NY Times: "On Eve of Meeting in Washington, Israel Announces More Housing Construction"
Jerusalem Post: "Jerusalem committee advances plan for Gilo housing"
Jerusalem Post: "Barak approves master plans for 4 settlements"
YNET: "Settlers angry expansion plans don't include Itamar"
AFP: "East Jerusalem settlement set to grow: Peace Now"

In the settlement of Kiryat Arba, Hagit Ofran, director of Peace Now's Settlement Watch project, told our delegation from Americans for Peace Now, "From here, only Israelis can enter Hebron by car; Palestinians have to go on foot." I thought she was joking. She wasn't.

Pogrebin is a founding editor of Ms. Magazine, the author of nine books, and is a past president of Americans for Peace Now.

The outrage of holding these hearings was best expressed by the head of Americans for Peace Now. "The attempt to delegitimize an American organization that supports Israel and works tirelessly to engage tens of thousands of Americans in pro-Israel activity is bad for Israel," said Debra DeLee.

Washington Jewish Week: "For The Love Of Israel?"
Chicago Jewish News: "Nutty, crazy, wackadoodle"

Bloomberg News: "Israel Plans to Remove Illegal West Bank Outposts by End of 2011"

Ynet: "State: Only 30% of illegal settlement structures razed"

Court ruled in the past that the wishes of the owners should be taken into account in deciding the use of the properties, but rejected compensating owners of property from before establishment of Israel.

By Chaim Levinson

Following the vote, which came out 14-1-0, APN expressed its disappointment in a statement.

Washington Jewish Week: "UPDATE: U.S. vetoes U.N. resolution chiding Israel"
IPS: "Mideast: U.S. Vetoes Settlement Freeze"
JTA: "UN resolution hysteria: how to make enemies, not friends"
JTA: "Palestinians say U.N. resolution will get vote"

Ori Nir, a spokesman for Americans for Peace Now, said the turmoil in the region only "underscores one of the reasons we insist that time is of the essence and that the right thing to do is to redouble our efforts to achieve peace with the Palestinians."

by Stewart Ain, Staff Writer

The latest project could mean more evictions in Sheik Jarrah, which has become a battleground between Palestinian residents and right-wing Jewish groups.

By Edmund Sanders, Los Angeles Times

In any case, meddling is counterproductive, said Lara Friedman, the legislative director for Americans for Peace Now, writing in an op-ed for JTA.

"Denying the reality of change in Egypt does not help Israel; it only guarantees that Israel's future relationship with Egypt will be more difficult," she said.

See more excerpts and links to the articles.

JTA: "Jewish groups ask Obama not to veto settlements resolution"

&

Ha'aretz: "'U.K. to consider UN censure of Israel's West Bank settlements'"

By JPOST.COM STAFF

Peace Now Secretary General Yariv Oppenheimer, sharply criticized the settler movement's tree-planting initiative to grab land around existing outposts, Army Radio reported Wednesday.

"The settlers have continued to plant hatred and despair and flagrantly violate the law," Oppenheimer said, adding: "The Prime Minister and the Defense Ministry hold the responsibility for stopping this land plundering during Israel's holidays."

This morning, Hasdei Me'ir, followers of the deceased Rav Kahane, announced their intention to plant 20,000 fruit trees surrounding their outposts in the West Bank.

By Ron Kampeas

(excerpt)

"The cyber worm may have set back Iran's nuclear program, but it is unlikely to alter its nuclear ambitions," said Ori Nir, the spokesman for Americans for Peace Now. "In order to introduce real change, the U.S. and its international allies must change the manner in which they deal with Iran and start to comprehensively engage with Tehran."

Read the entire article: http://www.jta.org/news/article/2011/01/18/2742605/do-stuxnet-revelations-allow-breathing-room-or-create-more-pressure-on-iran

Under Likud MK Danny Danon's proposal, public petitioners to the High Court of Justice would have to state whether they receive any funding from foreign sources, and if so, for what purpose

By Chaim Levinson

Peace Now Secretary General Yariv Oppenheimer, one of the leading figures behind setting up the coalition... "This is a time of emergency not only for left wingers, but for everyone who is concerned about Israeli democracy and the freedom to think and voice opinions."

After a tumultuous and highly vocal deliberation, the Knesset has voted, by a large majority, to establish a parliamentary commission of inquiry to investigate the activity of leftist organizations aimed against IDF soldiers.

See excerpts and links to:

Israel Hayom: "Knesset Votes to Form Inquiry Commission to Investigate Human Rights Organizations">
Ha'aretz: "Leftist groups: 'Witch hunt' against us will destroy democracy in Israel"
JTA: "Rethink probe of groups, AJC urges Knesset"
YNET: "MK Ben-Ari: Eradicate treacherous leftists"
YNET: "Machsom Watch: Probe MK Ben-Ari for incitement"

Israel begins razing East Jerusalem landmark -- Shepherd Hotel in Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood -- to make room for 20 housing units designated for Jews.

Peace Now: "Extreme right taking over east Jerusalem like thieves in the night"

Ben Gurion International Airport's wireless service reportedly is blocking travelers from selected left- and right-wing political websites, including that of Peace Now. (UPDATE: changes have been made and as of January 12, the Peace Now website is available for viewing at the airport)

Peace Now's Yariv Oppenheimer: "It's regrettable that people leaving Israel should be made to feel as though they were leaving China or North Korea. Only backward countries bar Internet sites expressing political opinions."

Also see excerpts and links to:

JTA: "Ben Gurion Airport blocking political websites"
AFP: "Israel airport wifi blocks political sites"

Security expenses for settlers living in Palestinian neighborhoods in East Jerusalem went up in the new budget, reaching NIS 3,160 per settler.

By Akiva Eldar

"Despite a clear court ruling requiring the house to be evacuated and sealed, (Jerusalem) Mayor Barkat has no intention of quarreling with those who helped him be elected as mayor--even if this means the systematic trampling of the rule of law."

Following the Ma'ariv op ed is a link to Ha'aretz: "Jerusalem mayor holds off eviction of settlers from East Jerusalem home"

Israeli West Bank settlement construction is booming three months after Israel ended its building freeze, possibly upsetting future peace talks, (Peace Now) said.

An additional 13,000 units have been approved...by contrast, in each of the last three years only 3,000 housing units were built.

See excerpts and links to:

Jewish Week: "Construction Without Consensus"
UPI: "Israeli construction booms in West Bank"
JTA: "Settlement building rises sharply following freeze"
YNET: "Since end of freeze: 13,000 homes approved"
AFP: "Israeli settlers building 100 illegal homes"
Jerusalem Post Frontlines: "Is settlement growth booming?"

By HILARY LEILA KRIEGER

The new House Foreign Affairs Committee chairwoman says she is determined to 'show Israel that we are strongly in its corner.'

Included are quotes from APN's Ori Nir, such as: "Thanks to Congress, America's aid program to the Palestinians is probably the most conditioned, restricted and audited aid program in the world."

By ROBERT MACKEY

As my colleague Ethan Bronner reports, Israelis are divided over a West Bank settlement construction boom.

Homes in the area were under Jewish ownership until 1947, and during the two decades of Jordanian rule of the city, they functioned as a wholesale market.

by Chaim Levinson

Settlers have moved into two Lowell-owned (a shell company set up on behalf of right-wing groups such as Elad) apartments in East Jerusalem this week, in what appears to be coincidence, though incident a day before led to clashes between Israelis and Palestinians.

See excerpts from and links to:

Ha'aretz: "Israeli settlers win ownership of East Jerusalem home after lengthy battle"
YNET: "Jews move into another east Jerusalem home"
AFP: "Israeli settlers expand presence in east Jerusalem"

(Pictured: 2nd floor settler apartment, above and below Palestinian, in the heart of Arab East Jerusalem's Jabel Mukaber)

"The only reason it was passed was to put more barriers in front of any potential peace agreement. It was tailored to political considerations and not to constitutional ideas and ideals. This is not how constitutional work is done," Sfard said. (Michael Sfard is the attorney who would represent Peace Now)

There is something odd about the argument over an "additional freeze" and the price that Israel is supposed to pay for it. It is odd because a complete cessation of the settlement enterprise is an Israeli interest. Unless, that is, we insist on striding towards the vision of Moshe Arens, Ruby Rivlin, Ilan Pappe, Tzippi Hotovely, the activists in the Zochrot non-profit organization and many others, from Left and Right, who act in word and deed, with opposed interests, to promote the achievement of their vision of one large state.

By Tony Karon

(excerpt)

Netanyahu still has to convince his Cabinet to embrace the deal, and he'll get some pushback from within his party and among settlers who will be furious about a new building slowdown (although the Israeli group Peace Now, which strongly opposes settlements, noted last week that in the six weeks since the last moratorium expired, settlers have started to work on pretty much the same number of housing units as they would have built in the 10 months it covered).

(Peace Now's) New report suggests that '1,126 foundations have been laid in 45 days, compared to 1,888 for all of '09'; data relies on aerial footage.

Also included are excerpts and link to:
AFP: "Settlers started 1650 new homes since freeze end, says Peace Now"
and the entire: Ma'ariv: "Accelerated Construction "Erased" the Freeze"

Israel was on Sunday examining a package of US incentives in exchange for a fresh ban on West Bank construction as a Peace Now report showed settlers have been building at a furious pace.

Articles:

AFP: "Israel eyes West Bank freeze as settlers race to build"
Toronto Star: "Efforts heat up for Israeli settlement freeze"
AP: "Plan for Mideast talks bets on quick border deal"
LA Times: "Netanyahu lobbies his Cabinet on U.S. peace talk incentives"Washington Post: "Israeli Cabinet to consider US settlement proposal"
Guardian: "Israel's cabinet split over fresh building freeze despite US offer of military aid"

See excerpts and links to:

Canadian Press: "Settler official confirms work has begun on up to 600 new homes in West Bank settlements"
VOA: "UN Envoy Condemns New West Bank Settlements"
MSNBC (Reuters): "Fearing new freeze, West Bank settlers rush to build"
NY Times: "In West Bank, Israeli Settler Building Rapidly Resumes";

Plus from The Christian Science Monitor, Democracy Now, AFP, Ha'aretz, BBC, CNN, and

Business Week: "Netanyahu in 'Close Contact' With U.S. on Peace Talks"

Peace Now Secretary General Yariv Oppenheimer was among those leading the procession, and he told YNET: "We are here to protest with the entire street against the dangerous policy of the government, which Labor ministers also support."

Go HERE for the entire article

High Court of Justice judges including Supreme Court President Dorit Beinish, Justice Uzi Fogelman and Justice Neal Hendel leveled criticism at government policy ignoring illegal construction in outposts which have been served with warrants.
--------------
Also included are excerpts from and links to the Ha'aretz articles:
"Netanyahu still wary of razing six West Bank outposts slated for demolition in 2004" & "Border Control / Minister of contempt" by Akiva Eldar

If peace talks between Israelis and the Palestinians break down completely, the sticking point is likely to be expanded Israeli settlements in the West Bank. Indeed, settlements have for the past two years been the focus of attention from U.S. negotiators. That's a contrast to past peace efforts, when the dominant issues were Palestinian violence and terrorism or Israeli security.

New report indicates an overall of 13,000 previously authorized West Bank housing units, construction sites could be built after the Sept. 26 freeze expiration date.

By Chaim Levinson

ARIEL, West Bank -- When a group of Israeli artists recently refused to perform in the new theater at this large Jewish settlement, local residents reacted with a mixture of hurt and defiance.

Following the op ed is: 

Ha'aretz: "Netanyahu: State should not fund any theater that boycotts Ariel"

Ma'ariv: "The Lecturers' Boycott"

Walla: "Oz, Yehoshua and Grossman Support Theater Workers' Protest"

By BEN HARTMAN

Protesters argue renewed building would ruin talks.

Dozens of activists attended a rally organized by Peace Now near the Talmon settlement, between Modi'in Illit and Ramallah, on Thursday, to demonstrate their support for an extension of the settlement freeze that is set to expire on September 26.

Following the JPost article is: Ynet News: "Leftists protest against resumption of West Bank building"

Following Boston Globe article is: Jerusalem Post: "Clinton announces direct talks to resume on Sept. 2" & Ha'aretz: "Netanyahu welcomes renewal of direct peace talks with Palestinians"

This time, it was settlers from Yitzhar and Bracha, near Nablus, who vandalized Palestinian property, blocked roads, torched fields, sabotaged Israel Defense Forces vehicles, punched, kicked Israeli police officers, cursed and harassed them and resisted arrest...

When you've spent years working to bring peace to Israel and to build support for that idea, watching someone else kick it around like a political football is just too much to swallow without speaking up.

The Israeli High Court responded favorably to a Peace Now petition about following through on the mandated removal of two West Bank outposts.

Ha'aretz: "High Court orders Israel to speed up outpost demolitions"

Ynet: "State on illegal outpost: Delay in relocating settlers"

AFP: "Quarter of Israeli settlements violate building ban: group"

Ha'aretz: "U.S. denies dropping demand for Israel settlement freeze"

Reuters: "Abbas seeks U.S. answers before talking to Israel"

According to Defense Ministry figures, construction continues in dozens of settlements in violation of building moratorium. Peace Now: 'Begin was right - freeze means nothing'

Jerusalem Post: "29 settlements defy freeze order"

Ynet: "Defense Ministry: Building in 29 settlements despite freeze"

BBC News: "Israeli settlers 'still building'"

JTA: "Many settlements violating building freeze, Israel says"

Ha'aretz: "Defense Ministry reveals West Bank settlement freeze abuses"

By Nathan Guttman

Published February 03, 2010, issue of February 12, 2010.

Washington -- A congressional letter calling on the United States to press for the lifting of the blockades imposed by Israel and Egypt on Gaza has sparked controversy within the Jewish community.

Picture: Reps. Jim McDermott (left) and Keith Ellison sponsored effort to ease blockade on movement of civilian goods.

"We have argued from the start that this is bad legislation and the Obama administration has made clear that it agrees," APN President and CEO Debra DeLee said in a statement on the measure.

By HILARY LEILA KRIEGER

By MATTHEW WAGNER

At Pollard's request, Rabbi Ya'acov Shapira will work to strengthen Jewish hold on disputed east J'lem house.

At the request of Jonathan Pollard, Rabbi Ya'acov Shapira, head of the Merkaz Harav Yeshiva, will launch various educational and spiritual activities designed to strengthen the Jewish hold on a disputed house in east Jerusalem.

Speaking at an Americans for Peace Now luncheon in honor of APN activist and Jewish community leader Irwin Levin, Berman (D-CA) said: "Over the years, I discovered two things: first, I learned that there were indeed many Palestinians who were prepared to accept Israel and who genuinely believe in coexistence. Second, I discovered the immense toll the occupation is taking on Israel."

By Donald Macintyre in Jerusalem

Demonstrations against evictions of Palestinians to make way for Jewish settlers

At least 15 protesters were arrested yesterday as several hundred left-wing Israelis held their biggest demonstration yet against demolitions and evictions of east Jerusalem Palestinians designed to make way for Jewish settlers.

By Nir Hasson

Hundreds of left-wing activists, including several prominent politicians, protested in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood in East Jerusalem on Friday.

The protest has become a weekly event in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood, held to protest a Jewish takeover of Palestinian homes in East Jerusalem through the use of ownership documents dating from the period of the British mandate in Palestine.

Yedioth Ahronoth (p. B8) by Uri Misgav -- On the hilltop stands a building, like a colonial palace in the Third World. Around it lie the barren pastures of the surrounding villages, a flock of sheep chewing the grass, and two Palestinian shepherds suspiciously eyeing the construction.

E.B. SOLOMONT, Jpost correspondent in New York , THE JERUSALEM POST

NEW YORK - Inside a glittering New York City ballroom on Wednesday night, several hundred people turned out to support the construction of Jewish housing near an Arab-populated part of east Jerusalem.

Increasingly, you hear them at public events and symposia. You read their analyses in the press and on blogs. They are the "no-solutionists."

Ultra-skeptical, hypercynical, often giddy about their political nihilism, they typically argue something along these lines: "As a realist, I realize that there are problems in this world that simply can't be resolved. The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is one of them."

By Josh Nathan-Kazis

An early January announcement that Israeli authorities had approved a new Jewish settlement on the campus of an American-funded yeshiva in East Jerusalem came just weeks after President Obama issued a statement condemning new Israeli construction in the area.

When I returned to Israel in the summer of 2000, following a four-year stay in the West Coast, I had two job offers. Ha'aretz offered me the Israeli-Arab beat, covering Jewish-Arab relations in Israel. And Yediot Ahronot offered me a unique beat, which would be created especially for me: the positive beat. All the time we only report bad stuff, the editor explained to me. We need good news and we need someone to proactively pursue good news, to make it his beat, the editor said.

• Jerusalem Post: "Isolated settlements kept on 'priority map' - to Labor's dismay"
• CNN: "West Bank settlements to receive more funding under plan"
• Jerusalem Post: "Ashkelon mayor, Peace Now fume at spending preferences"
• YNET: "Labor ministers: Help periphery, not settlements"
• ARMY RADIO NEWS REPORT
• Jerusalem Post: "Peace Now: Gov't marked high-income settlements as 'priority areas'"
• Ma'ariv: "At Ashkelon's Expense"
  

• AP: "Showdown looms over West Bank construction curb"
• CS Monitor: "Israel settlement freeze shields dismantling of illegal outposts"
• Yedioth Ahronoth: "One Hand Freezes, the Other Invests"
• AP: "Settlers protest in Jerusalem against freeze"
• Jerusalem Post: "West Bank building up despite freeze"
• Time: "Protests Mount Against Israel's Settlement Freeze"

• Jerusalem Post: "Palestinians protest mosque arson"
• AFP: "Officials Blame 'Extremist' Settlers for Arson Attack on West Bank Mosque"
  

Peace Now, Meretz activists place one ton of ice near Defense Ministry's Tel Aviv office during support rally for government plan

by Tal Rabinovsky

Several dozen Peace Now and Meretz activists held a rally across from the Defense Ministry offices in Tel Aviv Tuesday, in support of the settlement freeze.

• UPI: "Israeli soldiers refuse evacuation"
• Ha'aretz: "Troops hold up sign at IDF base: We won't evacuate settlers"

Thousands of people turned out at Tel Aviv's Rabin Square on Saturday night to mark the 14th anniversary of the assassination of prime minister Yitzhak Rabin.

By Akiva Eldar and Chaim Levinson

Human rights activists monitoring the West Bank report that despite commitments Israel made to President Barack Obama's administration last month, widespread building activity commenced three weeks ago in at least 12 settlements.

Peace Now Secretary-General Yariv Oppenheimer said, "The outpost industry will stop at nothing in order to continue thriving."

-------------------------

Guard at ancient West Bank synagogue site builds illegal shed from which he carries out carpentry work defense officials believe is used for construction of caravans, outposts by settlers. Civil Administration says execution of demolition order pending authorization of political echelon

By Efrat Weiss 

Co Authors Daniel Seidemann is a Jerusalem attorney and founder of Ir Amim, an Israeli nongovernmental agency, and Lara Friedman is director of policy and government relations for Americans for Peace Now.

----------------------------------------------

Jerusalem has once again emerged in recent days as the focal point of dangerous tensions that threaten to erupt into violence or even a third intifada. Much of the media analysis has overlooked the fact that this situation did not arise out of a vacuum, but is the latest manifestation of tensions that have been steadily growing for months.

The first pro-Israel group to praise Obama was Americans for Peace Now.

By Ron Kampeas · October 9, 2009

(JTA) -- The chairman of the Nobel Peace Prize committee cited President Obama's outreach to the Muslim world and his push for Israeli-Arab peace in explaining the shock decision.

Dan Izenberg , THE JERUSALEM POST 

A government decision to oppose Peace Now's request for an interim injunction against the illegal construction of 15 houses in the West Bank settlement of Kiryat Netafim, about 30 km. east of Tel Aviv, proved mistaken when building continued despite stop-work orders issued by the civil administration.

by Mohammed Mar'I, Arab News, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

Oct. 6--RAMALLAH -- The anti-settlement Israeli watchdog Peace Now on Monday said 800 housing units have been built in West Bank settlements in the last three months. The movement said in a press statement, after its activists toured a construction site in the West Bank settlement Nokdim not far from Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman's home,...

"Peace Now claims that the entire outpost is built on private Palestinian land"

JPost.com Staff , THE JERUSALEM POST

Touring the Netiv Ha'avot outpost in Gush Etzion along with other members of the Knesset's Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee on Wednesday, MK Yuli Tamir (Labor) confronted the settlers and reprimanded them for what she said was their illegal presence at the site.

After Obama calls to 'restrain' settlement activity, Ynet learns defense minister authorized additional construction in Karnei Shomron. Peace Now: Barak has become settlers' contractor

by Efrat Weiss 

Defense Minister Ehud Barak has authorized the construction of 37 additional housing units in the West Bank settlement of Karnei Shomron, Ynet learned on Wednesday.

"It's not normal or natural growth, it's a dramatic expansion for a new kind of population," says Hagit Ofran, of the Israeli group Peace Now, which campaigns against settlements.

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As Israeli, Palestinian and US leaders meet again in the long-running saga of Middle East peace talks, the BBC's Martin Asser examines one of the thorniest issues on the agenda. In the first of two articles, he visits an Israeli settlement in the West Bank undergoing a major expansion.

"The difference is in using a magnifying glass to look at this situation in a more detailed, nuanced, studied fashion," said APN spokesman Ori Nir of the group's Iran policy

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

HILARY LEILA KRIEGER, jpost correspondent in Washington

When Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad enters the United Nations to give his General Assembly address in New York this week, he will face an unprecedented coalition of Jewish, Iranian, labor, African-American and other activists demonstrating against his regime.

By Kevin Peraino | NEWSWEEK

From the magazine issue dated Sep 28, 2009

Washington and Jerusalem look closer today to a deal on freezing Israel's West Bank settlement construction than they've been in years. Last week, George Mitchell, the U.S. envoy, suggested that an agreement was imminent, and most observers expect at least a nine-month hiatus to start soon. Even the Israeli government's recent decision to approve 455 new housing units may be a sign that it knows a deal is coming and wants to get a few more buildings in before the deadline.

APN's CEO and President Debra DeLee said that "now is the time to look for ways to signal positive U.S. support for the Iranian people, not to create suffering in order to use that suffering as a weapon against the Iranian leadership."

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

By Nathan Guttman

Washington -- As world leaders converge on New York for the annual opening of the United Nations' new session, advocates and Jewish groups are seeking to broaden the coalition that has in years past protested the Tehran regime to include many additional groups that share grievances against Iran.

Key lawyer working on behalf of Peace Now named one of the "Israelis of the year"

by Dan Izenberg , THE JERUSALEM POST

"Crippling sanctions" could give "the Iranian authorities a pretext to discredit and further persecute critics and protesters," APN warned, "and make the lives of the Iranian people more difficult."

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Day of unity yields lawmakers' pledges on Iran sanction

by Robert Wiener, NJJN Staff Writer

Local Jewish leaders joined an intense lobbying effort in Washington last week, joining some 300 colleagues in winning bipartisan congressional support for strengthening sanctions against Iran.

"...Americans of Peace Now (has) criticized the sanctions strategy, saying it would undermine the Obama administration's diplomatic efforts."

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By Eric Fingerhut · September 15, 2009

WASHINGTON (JTA) -- As they prepare to protest the appearance of Iran's president at the United Nations General Assembly, Jewish groups are working to decipher the impact of the Obama administration's decision to hold talks with the Islamic Republic.

Americans for Peace Now (APN), for instance, issued a statement arguing that "arbitrary deadlines are a mistake" and that "pursuing sanctions that target the Iranian people, rather than their leaders, is a morally and strategically perilous path that the Obama Administration must reject".

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

by Daniel Luban and Jim Lobe

WASHINGTON, Sep 11 (IPS) - As nuclear negotiations between Iran and the West continue to move slowly, U.S. President Barack Obama is coming under growing pressure from what appears to be a concerted lobbying and media campaign urging him to act more aggressively to stop Iran's nuclear programme.

APN President and CEO Debra DeLee: "...additional sanctions aimed squarely at the ruling regime and its members may make sense, but that the US must not make the mistake of pursuing sanctions that target the Iranian people - like the 'crippling' sanctions currently under consideration."  

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HILARY LEILA KRIEGER, jpost correspondent in washington , THE JERUSALEM POST

Several hundred Jewish leaders and activists are planning to arrive here Thursday to urge top Obama administration officials and US congressmen to take action on Iran.

"Protesters from Peace Now and the right-wing Hatikva party demonstrated outside the event. Peace Now activists handed out ice pops to celebrate the settlement freeze."

by Gil Hoffman , THE JERUSALEM POST

Hundreds of people, including ministers, MKs and Yesha Council heads attend symbolic groundbreaking ceremony for 'Mevaseret Adumim' neighborhood in disputed area outside Jerusalem. 'We won't be the world's sucker anymore,' Deputy Minister Porush says, 'This is our answer to international pressure on settlements'

http://blogs.jta.org/politics/article/2009/08/27/1007497/dont-believe-what-you-read

By Eric Fingerhut · August 27, 2009

Lara Friedman at Americans for Peace Now blasts a Haaretz report today that the United States has dropped its demand for a settlement freeze in eastern Jerusalem. She notes that the writer of the story, Barak Ravid, "has repeatedly reported rumor and spin as news (including his reporting, not once but twice, that the Israeli Ambassador in Washington was 'summoned' to the State Department, when both times this is not what happened, as confirmed by other journalists)":

Peace Now says court's intervention required before buildings become 'another testament to demise of rule of law as it applies to Israeli population in West Bank'

READ Articles from Ynet & The Jerusalem Post

"Israel says it is nearing agreement with the US on settlement building in the occupied West Bank, after its PM held talks with a US envoy in London."

Aug. 26, 2009

by Shimon Shiffer et al.

In the course of his meeting with Brown, Netanyahu said that he would keep his promise to allow normal life to continue for the settlers. In other words, construction would continue to expand current settlements as well as public facilities -- but no new settlements would be created.

by Hagit Ofran, Peace Now Settlement Watch Director

Posted: August 26, 2009 04:00 PM

Following the meeting between US Senator Mitchell and Israeli PM Netanyahu, it seems that Israel and the US are getting close to some kind of agreement or understanding about a settlement freeze.

A settlement freeze is one of the key factors in order to enable a resumption of peace talks.

Unfortunately, I doubt I have to begin to look for another job. Settlement activity will always be one of the most important issues on the political agenda of our region.

8/25/09

Walla.co.il (online service) by Yehoshua Breier -- On the eve of Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's meeting with special US envoy to the Middle East George Mitchell, in which the two men will discuss a settlement construction freeze, among other issues, today the Binyamin Regional Council has scheduled a tour for construction contractors in the settlement Neriya.

http://haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1110003.html

08/25/2009

By Chaim Levinson, Haaretz Correspondent

Defense Minister Ehud Barak intends to evacuate all unauthorized West Bank outposts within weeks.

"The defense minister has declared a number of times that the evacuation of illegal outposts is our obligation as a democratic state," Barak's office said in a statement released Tuesday. "This is a process which will be implemented in weeks, not years."

Ynet: "MKs, leftists tour West Bank outposts" followed by JTA: "Left-wing Israeli lawmakers visit outposts" & Ha'aretz: "Left-wing activists and MKs tour outposts, call for them to come down By Chaim Levinson, Haarez Correspondent"

ARTICLES from Ha'aretz, Jerusalem Post, AP, and Ynet appear below viedoes

VIDEOS

http://www.monstersandcritics.com/news/middleeast/news/article_1496937.php/Peace-unlikely-even-in-16-years-Israeli-Foreign-Minister-Roundup
 
Aug 23, 2009

Jerusalem - Israel and the Palestinians have been unable to reach a peace deal in the 16 years since the signing of the Oslo interim peace accords, and it is likely they will be not do so in the next 16 years, Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said Sunday.

8/23/09

Ynet: "Minister Landau: Ya'alon was right - look at the Swedes"

by Roni Sofer

Government ministers slam Swedish organ harvesting report, while Yisrael Beiteinu's Landau lashes out at 'heavy damage caused to the State of Israel by Peace Now, the elites and the media.' Interior minister says won't grant work permits to Swedish newspaper's reporters
 
Ynet: "Peace Now: Landau inciting against Israel's Left"
 
Peace Now Secretary-General Yariv Oppenheimer said in response to the minister of national infrastructure that "Uzi Landau is continuing a dangerous incitement campaign against Israel's Left and encouraging an atmosphere of violence".

Read articles from Ynet, Ha'aretz, Yedioth Achronoth, Jerusalem Post, JTA, and Reuters, Ynet.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/hagit-ofran/partial-freeze-on-israeli_b_264132.html

Posted: August 20, 2009 03:17 PM

President Obama, following his meeting with President Mubarak, said yesterday: "There has been movement in the right direction" referring to the reports in the Israeli media that the government of Israel agreed to freeze construction in the settlements and not to issue new construction-tenders until the end of 2009. On one hand, we should be happy, because such a freeze proves that even an extreme right wing government cannot ignore the White House and run wild and build in the territories without limits. But on the other hand, the tenders which the government is freezing, are only a small part of the construction in the territories. On the ground there are several projects under construction in the settlements.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5gu040uEqBseQOYD0qpM5tCIElsPQ

By Ron Bousso (AFP) - 8/20/09

JERUSALEM -- Israel's hawkish premier on Tuesday agreed to curtail construction in the occupied West Bank in a gesture to Washington that critics said fell far short of US demands for a settlement freeze.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defence Minister Ehud Barak and Housing Minister Ariel Atias agreed no new tenders for settlement construction in the West Bank should be issued until early 2010.

http://haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1108779.html

08/20/2009

By Yossi Verter, Haaretz Correspondent

Why has ex-IDF chief Ya'alon allied himself to a far-rightist who Netanyahu called 'cancer' within Likud?

Had we not seen it, we would not have believed it: The vice prime minister, a senior Likud member and close confidant of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a member of the six-member diplomatic-security forum, hanging around with the man whom Netanyahu tried with all his might to oust from Likud, the man Netanyahu defines as "a cancer at the
heart of the movement."

http://www.reuters.com/articlePrint?articleId=USN20533284

Thu Aug 20, 2009

Obama urges Israel, Palestinians and Arab states to act

* Obama call follows conversation with Jordan's king

* Israel, Arabs disagree on who should make first move (Adds details and quotes)

By Matt Spetalnick

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-israel-settlements19-2009aug19,0,717563.story

Israel's prime minister has defended such projects in the West Bank. But officials say he is also quietly seeking a compromise that would facilitate a revival of peace talks with Palestinians.

By Richard Boudreaux
August 19, 2009

http://www.time.com/time/politics/article/0,8599,1917389,00.html

By Matthew Kalman / Har Bracha Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2009

Har Bracha -- the Mount of Blessing -- is a windswept hilltop settlement of Jews overlooking the Palestinian city of Nablus. According to biblical tradition, it is where Joshua and the children of Israel first entered the Holy Land. And, on Aug. 18, Mike Huckabee -- a Baptist preacher, two-time governor of Arkansas and once and perhaps future Republican presidential candidate -- received a heartfelt blessing from the local Orthodox Jewish minister.

http://jta.org/news/article/2009/08/18/1007314/israeli-officials-reportedly-agree-to-building-freeze

August 18, 2009

JERUSALEM (JTA) -- Israeli officials reportedly have agreed to freeze construction in the West Bank until the beginning of 2010.

JTA first reported the unofficial freeze on July 6.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Ehud Barak and Housing Minister Ariel Atias have agreed to a moratorium on building in the settlements in order to give the peace process a chance to move forward, several news outlets reported this week.

http://www.reuters.com/articlePrint?articleId=USTRE57H2B920090818

Tue Aug 18, 2009

By Jeffrey Heller

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has refrained from initiating new housing projects in Israeli settlements in the West Bank, hoping to reach common ground with Washington, a government minister said on Tuesday.

"Since the government was established five months ago, no tenders have been issued for Judea and Samaria," Housing Minister Ariel Atias said, referring to government invitations for bids for new construction in West Bank settlements.

Source: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5ioi_0jtO9RjMwPNRoXNCndRPRq3gD9A581EO0 (link has expired)

By MATTI FRIEDMAN (AP) - 8/18/09

JERUSALEM -- Israel has quietly stopped approving new building projects in the West Bank while publicly still refusing U.S. demands for an official settlement freeze, government officials said Tuesday.

President Barack Obama's administration has pushed Israel to shelve all settlement construction to allow peace talks to go forward, a demand Israel has said it cannot accept. The issue has grown into a rare public disagreement between the two close allies.

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3763339,00.html
 

08.17.09

US Republican presidential hopeful Mike Huckabee's visit to disputed east Jerusalem building site at Shepherd Hotel met with demonstrations from both sides of political spectrum as some 150 right- and left-wing protestors gather outside site. MK Uri Ariel: We are building and will continue to build in Jerusalem. Peace Now: Part of larger plan to commandeer east Jerusalem
 
by Ronen Medzini

http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1249418620948&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

Aug. 16, 2009
Abe Selig , THE JERUSALEM POST

A Monday reception featuring former US presidential hopeful and leading Republican politician Mike Huckabee at the Shepherd Hotel in east Jerusalem has turned into a hotly contested venue for protests both for and against Israeli policy in the area.

Two groups - Peace Now and Im Tirtzu - have called for a protest and counter-protest, respectively, on Monday evening, to coincide with the former Arkansas governor's planned appearance at the disputed east Jerusalem landmark. The groups represent either side of the growing debate over Jewish building rights in the annexed parts of the capital.

From Opinion.jpost.com

It is sitting right in front of me. A three-page cable from Boston to Jerusalem sent by consul-general Nadav Tamir expressing concern for Israel's international image following recent clashes with the US administration. I have read secret diplomatic cables for 30 years and I can testify that this is the kind of report professional diplomacy was created for.

Without seeing the current diplomatic correspondence (as I am no longer a government official), I can say that this is one of the most important cables sent by an Israeli diplomat this year - or maybe even this decade.

From Washington Jewish Weekly
By Ori Nir

Israelis were recently appalled by reports of sadistic hazing in the Israel Defense Forces' tank corps. Israeli newspapers uncovered routine patterns of beating, lashing, severe humiliation and other forms of brutal behavior toward new recruits.

But it seems that few were truly surprised. In the eyes of many, the story was depicted as one more expression of the growing brutalization of the IDF and of Israeli society. Hardly a day goes by without a murder, a road-rage related stabbing, a heartbreaking case of domestic violence, a Mafia-style drive-by shooting or an incident of teen violence.

Aug. 12, 2009
Tovah Lazaroff , THE JERUSALEM POST

The Civil Administration has issued stop-work orders on 12 modular homes that it claims have been illegally placed at the edge of a street on a hilltop within the Kochav Ya'acov settlement.

Rumors swirled on Wednesday that the Civil Administration had issued demolition orders on the homes, of which at least two are already inhabited by newly arrived French immigrants. The Civil Administration said it had not yet done so, but planned to pursue the matter of the illegal homes.

http://cgis.jpost.com/Blogs/oppenheimer/entry/hope_from_bethlehem_posted_by

Thursday Aug 06, 2009 
 
At its convention in Bethlehem this week, Fatah refused to recognize Israel as a Jewish state or adopt Hebrew as its official language, and didn't conclude with a rendition of HaTikva (Israel's national anthem). What a disappointment, what a blow to the champions of peace.

August 4, 2009

Broad condemnation of the eviction of Palestinians in east Jerusalem reflects growing international anger over settlements

by Ian Black

It isn't necessary to be unduly cynical to wonder exactly what it takes for British diplomats to be "appalled" by anything. But that was the reaction to Israel's eviction of Palestinian families from the east Jerusalem neighbourhood of Sheikh Jarrah - the ugly face of ethnic cleansing and the creation of new "facts on the ground" that make nonsense of hopes for any movement in the moribund peace process.

Aug 4, 2009

by Roi Sharon -- Clear air, a desert view, a swimming pool, a Jacuzzi and an ecological environment. This is not a moshav in the Arava, not even an hotel on the Dead Sea--but rather an outpost beyond the Green Line, in eastern Binyamin. After the settlements realized that they could also make money from tourism, recently even the illegal outposts have begun to offer B&Bs. In the outpost of Mitzpe Hagit in the Judean Desert, and also a few kilometers north of there in the Keda outpost, two guest cabins were put up that overlook the Jordan Valley.

Peace Now claims that the entire outpost is built on private Palestinian land. The larger petition against the outpost, which has 17 permanent homes and 15 caravans, was filed by eight Palestinian farmers from the village of El Khader, together with Peace Now.

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Yariv Oppenheimer, the secretary general of Peace Now, is not optimistic about a peace breakthrough. If the regional settlement sought by Obama was to be attained, Oppenheimer said, Israel needed a "big leader" such as Ariel Sharon.

The last American president to openly challenge Israel on settlements was George H.W. Bush and we commend President Obama for demanding that Israel halt all new construction. The controversy must not obscure Mr. Obama's real goal: nudging Israel and the Palestinians into serious peace negotiations.

In Jerusalem, where all planning is strategic and all local issues are international, the development of one property can serve as a political move intended to determine the city's future status.

by Gershom Gorenberg | July 30, 2009 | 

By DEBRA DELEE, APN President & CEO 

WASHINGTON (JTA) -- Five left-leaning, pro-Israel organizations teamed up to back the Obama administration's opposition to "unilateral actions" in Jerusalem.

A statement released jointly by Ameinu, Americans for Peace Now, Brit Tzedek v'Shalom, Meretz USA and J Street says that "issues of borders and sovereignty related to Jerusalem should be determined through negotiations in the context of a regional, comprehensive resolution to the Arab-Israeli conflict" and "unilateral actions that inflame tensions, impair negotiations and make the ultimate resolution of issues surrounding Jerusalem more difficult are unhelpful and should be avoided at this particularly sensitive moment."

In his enthusiasm to defend this latest Irving Moskowitz project (the same Irving Moskowitz who was a key player in Netanyahu's Hasmonean Tunnel debacle), Netanyahu gushed: