Jerusalem – Israeli Prime Minister Says No Withdrawal From Settlements

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    Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, right, and U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres shake hands before a press conference at the Prime Minister's Office in Jerusalem, Monday , Aug.28, 2017. ( Heidi Levine, Pool via AP)Jerusalem – Israel’s prime minister on Tuesday vowed to never uproot any West Bank settlement — just days after a White House envoy was in the region trying to restart peace talks with the Palestinians.

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    Benjamin Netanyahu’s comments enraged the Palestinians and raised new questions about the slow start for U.S. peace efforts led by White House adviser Jared Kushner.

    Netanyahu spoke at a ceremony Monday night in Barkan, a settlement in the northern West Bank.

    “We have returned here for good,” Netanyahu said. “There will be no more uprooting of settlements in the Land of Israel. Settlements will not be uprooted.”

    The Palestinians seek all of the West Bank, along with east Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip, for an independent state alongside Israel. Israel captured all three areas in the 1967 Mideast war, though it withdrew from Gaza in 2005.

    The Palestinians say that settlements on occupied lands are illegal and undermine the goal of a two-state solution by gobbling up land — a position that is widely backed by the international community.

    But since his election, President Donald Trump has broken with the policies of his predecessors and refused to endorse the two-state solution. In turn, Netanyahu has also taken a harder line and no longer speaks of establishing a Palestinian state.

    Nabil Abu Rdeneh, spokesman for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, denounced Netanyahu’s comments and urged the U.S. to intervene.

    “This is an Israeli message to the U.S. administration, which sought through an important tour in the area to do something in order to rescue the peace process,” he said. “We call upon the U.S. administration to deal with these provocations,” which he said hinder U.S. peace efforts and are “an attempt to return things to square one.”

    The Palestinians have expressed impatience with the White House, which has not yet offered a plan for forging peace despite Trump’s early pledges to pursue what he calls “the ultimate deal.”

    Kushner and his envoy, Jason Greenblatt, have held a series of talks with Israeli and Palestinian leaders, as well as with leaders across the Arab world in an attempt to take a regional approach toward solving the decades-old conflict.

    A senior White House official played down Netanyahu’s comments.

    “It is no secret what each side’s position is on this issue,” the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the media. “Our focus is on continuing our conversations with both parties and regional leaders to work toward facilitating a deal that factors in all substantive issues.”

     

     


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    16 Comments
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    6 years ago

    Let us hope that he really means what he said.

    grandbear
    grandbear
    6 years ago

    for the so called ‘palestinians’ their show is over , they missed their opportunity to have a state ( which they never wanted).

    takeittothem
    takeittothem
    6 years ago

    2-state solution? see how well the Koreans are doing with that one !

    6 years ago

    Good because giving back land won’t satisfy these animals

    6 years ago

    And every oz if Yidish blood spilled is on u Bibi. For all you care, there can be ch”v more. You dont value life. Land is way more crucial to you.RAK BEDAM! And to all idiots living in the West bank; you wouldve all been charged for negligence of child safety and williing endangerment of yourself plus, in the US. Youre putting your life on the line every min. May G D protect these innocent people that are convinced theyre observing a mitzvah by living in the bulls eye. and bring Mashiach

    thegreatone
    thegreatone
    6 years ago

    # 6, Thank you. I have nothing to add but to say that to Bibi and real Zionist Jewish blood means zero.
    Over thirty thousand JEWS lost their lives IN Israel since 1948.
    Entire families who live in the west bank were butchered and murdered by bloodthirsty Arabs.
    But to religious flaming Zionists nationalism comes before Jewish lives.

    stamm
    stamm
    6 years ago

    right now the yidden must be protected and by having Palestinians live on our doorstep causes a great sakono

    PaulinSaudi
    PaulinSaudi
    6 years ago

    Well yes. Bibi would say such a thing. Anyone who wants to be PM will say such a thing. A person in public life who said anything much different in Israel might well be killed by the mob.

    6 years ago

    What “peace process?!” Any fool knows the palis don’t want peace, they want all of Israel, and the Jews driven into the sea G’f,