Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel was ready to enter serious peace negotiations with the Palestinians, while his coalition partner Naftali Bennett said a pact would lead to more violence. “Our fervent hope is for peace, a genuine peace that can be achieved only through direct negotiations without preconditions,” Netanyahu said at the start of…
Despite almost uniformly claiming to back a two-state solution to the Israel-Palestinian conflict, most major American Jewish organizations have declined to rally behind Secretary of State John Kerry’s recent call on them to speak with Israeli decision makers on the urgency of renewing negotiations with the Palestinians In interviews with the Forward, some American Jewish…
American Jewish leaders Abraham Foxman, Rabbi Rick Jacobs and David Harris condemned recent statements by senior Israeli officials about the impossibility of a two-state solution, calling them irresponsible and saying they undermine the credibility of the government. Earlier this week, Economy Minister Naftali Bennett told a settlers group that the idea of a Palestinian state…
World leaders encouraged Israel and the Palestinians to move the peace process forward in the opening events of Israel’s Presidential Conference. The conference, dubbed “Facing Tomorrow,” is a gathering of world leaders, celebrities and leading thinkers hosted by Israeli President Shimon Peres in Jerusalem. The conference began on Tuesday with a celebration of Peres’ upcoming…
The Palestinian administration in the West Bank has tried to help the latest U.S. peacemaking drive by quietly cutting off funds for grassroots campaigners against Israel’s occupation of the territory, a senior Israeli general said on Tuesday. The allegation, which the campaigners contested, underscored the sensitivity of the Palestinians’ security coordination with Israel at a…
Former Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman responded on Monday to reports on Army Radio, which said there has been a de facto settlement freeze in Jerusalem neighborhoods located beyond the Green Line since the beginning of the year. “One should view this as a temporary hiatus,” Lieberman said. “We have an interest in [Secretary of State]…
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry is set to return to Israel and the Palestinian territories next week for his fifth visit to the region in barely two months to extend his push for a revival of peace talks, sources on both side said. A senior American official indicated in March that Washington would try…
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu signalled readiness on Wednesday to consider a 2002 Arab peace plan whose terms were recently softened to include possible land swaps between Israel and the Palestinians. “We are listening to every initiative – the Arab initiative has been mentioned – and we are prepared to discuss initiatives that are proposals and…
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