Today's News

Five Illegal Outposts To Be Evacuated
by Roni Sofer (YNet)

A Defense Ministry document sent to the State Prosecutor’s Office revealed Wednesday that five illegal outposts will be evacuated within weeks, following an agreement between the settlers and the government.

One of the five outposts will be Migron. The names of the other four have not been made public since the Defense Ministry fears those objecting to the evacuation may try to torpedo the move.

Posted on: 04/02/08
Municipal Government Approves Construction of 600 New Homes in East Jerusalem
by Neta Sela (Ynet) and The Associated Press

Construction beyond Green Line continues in full pace: Jerusalem’s city hall announces Monday its plan to construct 600 new apartments in the neighborhood of Pisgat Ze’ev, part of the eastern part of the city Palestinians hope will one day be their capital.

The apartments are an element of Mayor Uri Lupolianski’s plan to build 40 thousand new apartments for young couples in Jerusalem’s municipal territories, some of which are beyond the 1967 borders.

Posted on: 04/02/08
Vilan: Evacuation Compensation Law Close
by Rebecca Anna Stoil and Gil Hoffman (The Jerusalem Post)

The Knesset vote on the proposed Evacuation Compensation Law, designed to pay West Bank settlers to move within the Green Line, may come sooner than many thought—and the legislation may be much closer to passing than many opponents think, bill co-sponsor MK Avshalom Vilan (Meretz) said Sunday. …

Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni voiced support for the bill for the first time at a press conference on Sunday with visiting U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. But Livni said the bill should not be proposed until after a deal was reached with the Palestinians on Israel’s final borders.

Posted on: 04/02/08
Israel to Remove 50 West Bank Barriers
by Griff Witte (The Washington Post)

Prodded by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Israel said Sunday that it would remove about 50 roadblocks in the West Bank as it moves ahead with faltering negotiations aimed at reaching a peace deal with the Palestinians by the end of the year.

Rice called the announcement "a very good start" to improving Palestinians’ freedom of movement in the West Bank, a key element in the peace process. But Palestinian leaders reacted far more cautiously, noting that Israel has promised before to take down internal West Bank barriers but failed to follow through.

Posted on: 04/02/08

Setting the Record Straight

Israel Also Must Fulfill Its Commitments

"The world might want us to freeze, but there’s no doubt that we look at it a bit differently. We will make this into a continuous, meaningful block connecting this whole corridor to Jerusalem. I see many possibilities to start building again, according to the demands of natural growth."
–Eli Yishai, chairman of the religious Shas party, March 19, 2008

VS.

"The international road map is unequivocal: Israel has to evacuate all outposts. If Abbas is expected to fulfill his commitments, then Israel must fulfill its obligations too. … If we do not fulfill our road map commitments, there will not be negotiations. … We have to freeze all settlement activities east of the security fence."
–Minister Ami Ayalon (Labor), former director of the Israeli secret service Shin Bet, interview with Spiegel Online, January 28, 2008

Middle East Analysis

Israel’s ‘Religious Right’ Gains Clout, Complicating Peace
by Ilene R. Prusher (The Christian Science Monitor)

On a hilltop far enough from the existing Israeli settlement of Givat Zeev that one needs directions to get here stands the framework of a settlement meant to house up to 750 families. Eli Yishai stood on an unfinished balcony of one of the new development’s shell homes. He’s a key coalition partner of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and the leader of the religious party Shas, which is feted by some and decried by others for having broken Israel’s “settlement

Continue Reading Israel’s ‘Religious Right’ Gains Clout, Complicating Peace

Posted on: 04/02/08

Background Basics

The Challenge of Settlements and Outposts Since 1992: Some Key Events

1992 – 1994: In 1992, as a means to re-secure $10 billion in U.S. housing loan guarantees for new immigrants from Russia, Yitzhak Rabin’s government pledged to freeze settlement expansion. By 1994, however, the government had proposed construction of up to 15,000 new apartments, including the Maale Adumim settlement five miles east of Jerusalem, which now threatens to divide the West Bank in two. In addition, Ehud Olmert, then mayor of Jerusalem, authorized the construction

Continue Reading The Challenge of Settlements and Outposts Since 1992: Some Key Events

Posted on: 04/02/08

Heard on the Street

Protect Israeli Rule of Law

Attorney Talia Sasson, legal adviser to Prime Minister Sharon and author of a 2005 report on illegal outposts, Geneva Initiative conference on “The Challenge of Settlements,” March 30, 2008 (translated by Middle East Bulletin):

“A nation of law must stop all illegal activity to protect the rule of law and democracy. … For the sake of preserving the Jewish-democratic character of Israel, the state has to evacuate settlements. In addition, we have international commitments, toward the United States, which were expressed

Continue Reading Protect Israeli Rule of Law

Posted on: 04/02/08

Upcoming Events

No End in Sight: Conversations on Iraq

Keynote Address:
Senator Jack Reed (D-RI)

Introduction by:
Rudy deLeon, Senior Vice President of National Security and International Policy, Center for American Progress

Featured Speaker:
Charles Ferguson, author, No End in Sight

Moderated by:
Brian Katulis, Senior Fellow, Center for American Progress

When: March 13, 2008, 12:00pm - 1:30pm

Where: Center for American Progress, 1333 H St, NW, Washington, DC. 20005

RSVP for event or click here for more information

Posted on: 03/10/08