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Israel News for January 16, 2017

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Paris Summit
The seventy two international leaders attending the Paris conference for peace in the Middle East this weekend, including US Secretary of State John Kerry, released a final statement calling on Israel and the Palestinians to adopt a two-state solution based on the pre-1967 borders and UN Security Council resolutions and to refrain from unilateral actions.

The statement called on each side, “to refrain from unilateral steps that prejudge the outcome of negotiations on final-status issues, including, inter alia, on Jerusalem, borders, security, refugees and which they will not recognize.” It was also an implied to incoming president Trump not to move the US embassy to Jerusalem.

Great Britain, which had observer status at the conference did not endorse the statement saying, “We have particular reservations about an international conference intended to advance peace between the parties that does not involve them—indeed which is taking place against the wishes of the Israelis—and which is taking place just days before the transition to a new American President when the US will be the ultimate guarantor of any agreement. There are risks therefore that this conference hardens positions at a time when we need to be encouraging the conditions for peace.”

Israeli sources were actually relieved with the final statement. John Kerry called PM Netanyahu yesterday to reassure him that no further UN Security Council actions will be taken as a result of the conference.

For further reading click here.

UN Funding
Sens. Ted Cruz of Texas and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina have introduced legislation in the senate to cut funding to the United Nations until it repeals an anti-settlements resolution passed last month by the Security Council.

The senators released a joint statement saying, “The United States is the largest contributor of funding to the United Nations, providing 22 percent of the U.N. regular budget, the highest of any member state, which gives the U.S. considerable influence over the United Nations. The United States must use this influence to help our allies, in this case Israel, which is crucial to our own national security interests.”

Senate Democrats would likely use the filibuster to block it. Similar legislation will soon be introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives.

For further reading click here.

Peace Man
In an interview with the Times of London, Trump said that Jared Kushner, his son-in-law and newly appointed senior White House advisor, will take on the task of negotiating peace between Israelis and Palestinians. Worth a shot.

Inauguration Guests
While the Prime Minister won’t be attending the US presidential inauguration, other Israeli leaders will. Three members of the Samaria leadership, representing the settler movement will be there, bearing gifts of Samarian agricultural produce. The three are Samaria Regional Council Head Yossi Dagan, Efrat Mayor Oded Revivi and Ma’ale Adumim Mayor Benny Kashriel. During his visit, Dagan will meet with senior officials in and connected to the incoming administration.

For further reading click here.

Jewish Bluegrass
What do you get when you combine bluegrass music with tehilim (psalms)? To listen and enjoy, click here.

Israel Books
If you’re searching for book on Israel, Click here. We get a small commission for anything you buy on Amazon for a full 24 hours after you use the link. In other words, if you end up buying a computer and lawnmower, we get the commission on that too. It’s a great way to support us while getting great deals on your shopping. And it doesn’t cost you a cent! So please use this link for all your Amazon shopping.

abbas at UN

Palestinian Authority President Abbas at the UN

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Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas had an eventful time at the UN this week.

On Wednesday Abbas raised the Palestinian flag for the first time at the UN, after a resolution permitting non member states to do so was recently passed by a landslide majority of the UN general assembly. The US didn’t send a representative to the event, but other Western nations including France did. Abbas promised that the flag will soon be raised in Jerusalem, “the capital of our Palestinian state.”

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called Wednesday a day of “pride” and “hope” for Palestinians around the world. He urged the Palestinians to pursue their long-held dream for their own state by first uniting Gaza and the West Bank, and he urged Israel and the Palestinians to revive negotiations that collapsed last year and conclude “a successful peace process that will lead to the unfurling of the Palestinian flag in its proper place – among the family of nations as a sovereign member state of the United Nations,” Ban said.

But wait…there’s more.

In his official address to the UN general assembly on Wednesday, Abbas stated that he is no longer bound by agreements, including the Oslo Accords, that have defined relations with Israel for the past two decades and are meant to form the basis for a two-state solution to the Middle East conflict.

Abbas demanded that Israel “assume all of its responsibilities as an occupying power.” He stopped short of suspending security cooperation with Israel.

PM Netanyahu’s office issued a statement in response, saying that Abbas had delivered a “speech of lies that encourages incitement and unrest in the Middle East.”

Netanyahu called on Abbas to “act responsibly” and answer his proposal for direct negotiations with Israel without any preconditions. “The fact that time after time he (Abbas) does not respond is the best proof that he has no intention of reaching a peace agreement,” he said.

[bctt tweet=”“The fact that time after time he (Abbas) does not respond is the best proof that he has no intention of reaching a peace agreement” – Bibi” via=”no”]

Upshot
Will Abbas’s speech lead to any practical change on the ground, other than the potential of inciting terror attacks? According to Palestinian analyst Hani al-Masri in Ramallah, Abbas was just trying to attract attention and pressure Israel. “This is a threat not a plan. Abbas has no plan, otherwise he could have spelled it out in his speech.” Nevertheless, his move will definitely not result in anything positive for Israel. Things could get much worse for both sides.

You can read more about this topic here.

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