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NEWS ABOUT: West Bank settlements

Again, Obama Caves to Israel

Peter Beinart on the US' longstanding trend of rolling over to its ally

(Newser) - President Obama hosted Benjamin Netanyahu last week, and unlike Bibi's last visit—a disaster for Obama—this one went well, with Netanyahu seemingly embracing the president. But that harmony came at the cost of Obama's principles on Israel, says Peter Beinart of Newsweek , in a modified excerpt from... More »

Israel Punishing Palestinians With Rushed Settlements

Funds also frozen after Palestine's UNESCO membership

(Newser) - Palestine's membership in UNESCO has met a fierce response from Israel. A day after Palestine joined the United Nations' cultural body , Israel ordered the accelerated construction of 2,000 new homes in East Jerusalem and the West Bank. In what officials acknowledge is punishment for "unilateral actions,"... More »

Israel OKs 1,100 More Homes in East Jerusalem

Palestine condemns move

(Newser) - In a move sure to ratchet up Israeli-Palestinian tension even further, Israel gave the OK today to construct 1,100 new housing units in east Jerusalem. Israel’s Interior Ministry says construction can begin after 60 days, a period that is mandatory for comments from the public but largely a... More »

Israel Arming Settlements as Protests Loom

Settlers get tear gas, stun grenades ahead of statehood debate

(Newser) - The Israeli military, expecting widespread confrontations in the West Bank as the United Nations debates recognizing a Palestinian state, is training Jewish settlers to repel protests. Settlement security chiefs are being given tear gas and stun grenades, and the military is mapping out firing zones around settlements, according to leaked... More »

Israel to OK 4.3K More Homes in East Jerusalem

Palestine not happy with latest announcement

(AP) - Israel's interior minister gave final authorization to build 1,600 apartments in disputed east Jerusalem and will approve 2,700 more in days, officials say, detailing a plan that could complicate diplomatic efforts to dissuade Palestinians from declaring statehood at the United Nations. The announcement drew immediate criticism from... More »

US Slaps Israel Settlement Plan

West Bank settlements 'illegitimate,' says embassy

(Newser) - The US Embassy is “deeply concerned” about Israel’s plans to expand its West Bank settlements, a decision the country made following an attack this weekend on a settler family, the AP reports. Benjamin Netanyahu yesterday said: “They murder, we build.” To wit, Israel has approved the... More »

In Murders' Wake, Israel OKs New Settlements

Tensions escalate

(Newser) - A mere day after an Israeli family of five was massacred while they slept , the AP reports that Israel has approved the construction of hundreds of new homes in West Bank settlements. The homes will be built in a part of the West Bank that Israel expects to hold onto... More »

Netanyahu to Abbas: Let's Do Nonstop Talks

Israeli PM apparently trying to jumpstart peace talks

(Newser) - Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu is ready to head back to the negotiating table with Mahmoud Abbas—and stay there until a deal is struck, reports the AP. Seeking to jumpstart Mideast peace talks that stalled in September, Netanyahu said today that he's "ready to immediately sit down for continuous,... More »

US Drops Push for Israeli Settlement Freeze

But there's not really a clear plan to replace it

(Newser) - The White House is giving up on an Israeli settlement freeze as the ticket to reviving gasping peace talks. There doesn't appear to be a clear plan B, but officials say that the 90-day freeze Washington sought—on which PM Benjamin Netanyahu failed to secure a buy-in from his Cabinet—... More »

Netanyahu Will Push for Settlement Freeze

Official gives details of proposed deal

(Newser) - Despite the angry-sounding words recently exchanged between President Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over planned Israeli settlements in East Jerusalem, Netanyahu has reportedly agreed to push for a new settlement freeze. Under the proposed deal, Netanyahu will ask his cabinet to freeze construction for just 90 more days... More »

Israel Plans New Settlements

Controversial announcement for 1,000 homes made as Netanyahu visits DC

(Newser) - Plans for 1,000 new homes to be built in East Jerusalem were published in Israeli newspapers just as Benjamin Netanyahu participated in negotiations in Washington, DC, the New York Times reports. The announcements fly in the face of American and Palestinian requests for a settlement freeze in the interest... More »

Israel Hunts Settlers in Mosque Fire

They allegedly burned prayer rugs, Korans

(Newser) - The Koran-burning furor appears to have arrived in the West Bank. Five Jewish settlers are alleged to have broken into a mosque in the Palestinian town of Beit Fajjar early today and set fire to it, along with prayer rugs and a large number of Korans, witnesses tell al-Jazeera . The... More »

Construction Begins as Settlement Freeze Expires

But Mahmoud Abbas not leaving peace talks yet

(Newser) - Bulldozers were already working to construct Jewish West Bank settlements this morning, after Israel’s construction freeze expired at midnight, but Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas did not immediately abandon the peace talks as he had threatened. Abbas will instead consult with Arab leaders and allow another week before making a... More »

Clock Ticking, US Scrambles to Save Mideast Talks

Israelis already celebrating end of settlement slowdown

(Newser) - With Palestinians threatening to walk away from Mideast peace talks, officials in Washington are scrambling to rescue the negotiations just hours before a slowdown on West Bank settlement construction expires. "They are talking. Intense efforts are ongoing," said one anonymous official. PM Benjamin Netanyahu has called for "... More »

Israel: We're Ready to Make a Deal on Settlements

But 'there cannot be zero construction'

(Newser) - Israel has signaled that it’s ready to make a deal to curb the growth of its West Bank settlements, just two days before the current partial construction moratorium expires. “Israel is prepared to reach a compromise acceptable to all parties,” a senior government official tells the AFP... More »

Inside Israel's Top Settlements

Who lives there, and why?

(Newser) - Israel's West Bank settlements have become one of the most contentious points in Middle East peace talks. But where are these settlements anyway, and who lives in there? The Christian Science Monitor takes a look at the five biggest, presented in brief in the slideshow above. People flock to these... More »

Israeli PM: US Easy to Manipulate

Netanyahu talks about undermining Oslo accords in old video

(Newser) - A tape has surfaced in which Benjamin Netanyahu, current prime minister of Israel, brags about how easy the US is to manipulate. In the video, which was shot in 2001, the then-out-of-office Netanyahu speaks bluntly with a group of West Bank settlers about how he had undermined the Palestinian peace... More »

US Nonprofits Fund Israeli Settlements in West Bank

Obama administration simultaneously fights construction

(Newser) - When President Obama meets with Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House today, he’ll probably pressure the Israeli PM to stop illegal construction in the West Bank. But even as the administration fights those settlements, the US government is giving millions in tax breaks to groups that help build them,... More »

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