via BBC News Israel says it will not give in to international pressure to halt plans for 3,000 new settler homes in East Jerusalem and the West Bank. PM Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said Israel would continue to stand by its “vital interests” and would not change its decision. The UK, France, Spain, Denmark and Sweden … Continue reading
via Aron Heller and Karin Laub, Associated Press Israel responded swiftly Friday to U.N. recognition of a Palestinian state, revealing it will build 3,000 more homes for Jews on Israeli-occupied lands that the world body overwhelmingly said belong to the Palestinians. The plans also include future construction in a strategic area of the West Bank … Continue reading
via Ariel Zirulnick, Christian Science Monitor Now that the exhumation and reburial of late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat is complete, the wait for results on cause of death begins. Suspicions that Israel poisoned him are widespread, and the results will put to rest eight years of questions about his rapid health deterioration and subsequent death. … Continue reading
When the Obama administration wanted to be certain that Congress would not block $50 million in new aid to thePalestinian Authority last month, it turned to a singularly influential lobbyist: Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu. Representative Kay Granger has urged the Palestinians to resolve issues in direct talks. At the request of the American Embassy and Secretary of … Continue reading
Israel’s most vocal supporters in the U.S. have long complained that the United Nations is a bastion of anti-Israeli sentiment, and this year’s General Assembly debate could be worse than ever. Palestinians are seeking U.N. membership as a state even though there’s no peace deal with Israel. Israel is also under diplomatic pressure from regional … Continue reading
President Obama will deliver a critical address Tuesday at the United Nations General Assembly expected to be dominated by questions about Palestinian statehood. Obama’s administration will veto any request by the Palestinians for the UN Security Council to grant them a sovereign state, but the White House hopes to avoid that step. Such a vote … Continue reading
