Netanyahu Delays US Meeting Due to Debate Over SettlementsIsraeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delayed a meeting with US Middle Easy Envoy George Mitchell which was to have taken place in Paris on Wednesday. An Israeli official said it was because the Israeli government wanted more time for “more professional work” to straighten out the diverging views on settlements. Netanyahu aides said Defense Minister Ehud Barak would instead meet Mitchell next week in Washington.
The Obama Administration has repeatedly called for an end to settlement expansion while Netanyahu maintains the need for “natural growth.” However, according to AP Israelis moving to the West Bank accounted for more than a third of settler population growth in recent years, government statistics show, undercutting Israel's argument that it is continuing settlement construction only to accommodate growing families already living there.
Yasser Abed Rabbo, a senior aide to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas believes that "The Israelis are playing a game of deception by what they call natural growth". Data from Israel's Central Bureau of Statistics supports that argument, showing that in 2007, 36 percent of all new settlers had moved from Israel or abroad.
Netanyahu has recently been met with differing opinions in Europe over the settlement issue. French President Sarkozy calls for "an immediate and complete halt to settlement," in addition to ceding sovereignty over part of Jerusalem to Palestinians. Conversely, Italian Premier Berlusconi spoke only of the need for Israel "to send signals" on stopping settlement.
US to send Ambassador to Syria
President Obama has decided to send a U.S. ambassador back to Syria for the first time in four years. A senior administration official told the Washington Post newspaper.
Mustafa told Al Jazeera that the move would reflect a genuine desire by the US to engage Syria. While this is a positive development for US-Syrian relations, Syrian President Assad remains pessimistic with regard to Israel. At a joint press conference with his Greek counterpart on Wednesday President Assad said that an Israeli partner for peace does not exist. He stated “In order to achieve peace, there must be an Israeli partner that will honor the international law and the Security Council's resolutions that are based on land for peace."
HEADLINES
Palestinian official: Progress on Shalit talks, but his release not imminent (Ynet)
Israeli court jails ex-minister (BBC)
Israel mulls temporary freeze on settlement construction (Haaretz)
Iran supreme leader: We won't cede on election (Haaretz)
Rights group: IDF, Shin Bet restraint practices tantamount to torture (Haaretz)
Palestine and the Palestinians
Hamas: situation on the ground at odds with PA statements on release of party-affiliated detainees (Palestine News Network)
Palestinian Authority opens new police station in Nablus (Ma'an)
Palestinian leader urges state-building (Financial Times)
Factional arrests dim unity prospects (Ma'an)
‘Job Creation Is The Name Of The Game’ (The Jewish Week)
Israel denies reported progress on kidnapped soldier's release (Xinhua)
Israel won't let Gaza boy see his only parent (Haaretz)
Israel
Israeli Army operations 'outside UNIFIL jurisdiction' (The Daily Star)
'Security services torture, abuse Palestinians' (Jerusalem Post)
Electric company tries to build high voltage electric poles on Palestinian land to supply settlement (International Middle East Media Center)
Report: Israel ready for possible Iran op (Jewish Times)
The Neighbors
Egypt to open border briefly for stranded Palestinians (Xinhua)
AL chief welcomes Moscow's call for Mideast peace conference (Xinhua)
FM: Egypt's vision for peace before Arab FMs (ISRIA)
Syria ready for peace based on land-for-peace principle: official (US Foreign Policy
Italy calls for stop of Israeli settlements on Palestinian soil (Xinhua)
Netanyahu in France as settlements strain US ties (AFP)
Obama seen as losing peace momentum (The Daily Star)
Obama Will Send Envoy to Syria, Officials Say (IHT)
International Relations/Law
UN official: Gaza crisis could undermine peacemaking (Ma'an)
UK says no to arms embargo on Israel (The Jerusalem Post)
Netanyahu, Mitchell postpone meeting (Ma'an)
Chinese envoy to involve personal experience in Mideast to fulfill mission (Xinhua)
Crisis Rocks Mideast Power Balance (Wall Street Journal)
Brown, Abdullah speak on Iranian protests (UPI)
Arts and Activism
Hip-Hop, Palestinian style (Jerusalem Post)
New short films showcase breadth of Palestinian cinema (Electronic Intifada)
The necessity of cultural boycott (Electronic Intifada)
Misc
The Western media and Iran (Electronic Intifada)
Commentary
Editorial: Palestinian divisions ensure that Netanyahu's 'four no's' go ignored (The Daily Star)
Friedemann: US Charities Paying for Sending Aid to Palestinians (Khaleej Times)
Editors: The Arab world reacts (or doesn't) (NY Times)
Cassel: The Western Media and Iran (Electronic Intifada)
Khatib: A Palestinian View: Weakening the Islamist (Mideast Peace Pulse)
Bar'el: With enemies like these, who needs friends? (Haaretz)
Cohen: The end of the beginning (NY Times)
Sheleg: Let the Palestinians stay even after Israel evacuates (Haaretz)
Strenger: The cost of Netanyahu (Jerusalem Post)
Editors: Palestinian divisions ensure Netanyahu's 'four no's' go ignored (Daily Star)
Views expressed on this post or on linked web pages do not represent the Palestine Center, the educational program of the Jerusalem Fund for Education and Community Development. All content is for educational purposes only.
