Yossi Alpher is an independent security analyst. He is the former director of the Jaffee Center for Strategic Studies at Tel Aviv University, a former senior official with the Mossad, and a former IDF intelligence officer. Views and positions expressed here are those of the writer, and do not necessarily represent APN's views and policy positions.
This week, Alpher discusses Hamas' accusation that the Mossad assassinated a senior militant Friday in the heart of Gaza City; whether the killing could lead to escalation and possibly a new conflict with Hamas in Gaza; if Israeli involvement in the killing would reflect a more aggressive deterrent policy; the application of this deterrent policy on Israel's northern fronts; and the dangers of this more aggressive Israeli policy.
Aljazeera: March 23, 2017
“Israel Built 2,630 Illegal Homes in West Bank last
year,” Peace Now cites that 14,017 homes were started when Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s returned to
office in 2009.
i24 News: March 23, 2017
“US Asked Israel to Halt Building Outside Settlement Blocs,
Impose Quota: Report,” Peace Now reports that Israel’s settlement construction plans in 2016 were the second
highest number in 15 years.
Times of Israel: March 22, 2017
“West Bank Settlement Construction Up in 2016 - Report,”
Peace Now warns that the sharp increase in settlements shows the Palestinians and the international community
that Israel is not looking for two-state solution.
Arutz 7: March 22, 2017
"Construction in Judea and Samaria rises 40% in 2016,"
Peace Now says construction in West Bank settlements increased by 40% in 2016.
Jordan Times: March 22, 2017
"Sharp rise in Israeli settlement projects in 2016,"
According to Peace Now, 2016 saw a sharp 40% increase in Israeli settlement construction.
The Forward: March 15, 2017
"Dovish Jewish Groups ‘Heartbroken’ At Prospect Of Being
Banned From Israel," APN seeks clarifications from the Israeli government regarding new "Entry Law"
The U.S. Senate today confirmed, by a very narrow margin, the nomination of David Friedman to be America’s ambassador to Israel.
Americans for Peace Now (APN) strongly opposed Friedman’s confirmation and worked hard to thwart it.
“Construction inside the settlement “blocs” isn’t a non-issue. When Israeli and Palestinian
negotiators start talking seriously about settlements, they won’t be spending a lot of time debating the
future of isolated settlements, because these settlements would unquestionably have to be removed under a
peace agreement. The real negotiations, the very difficult ones, will be over the so-called “settlement
blocs”: their size and contours, the way they will be connected to Israel, and the land swaps that will be
used to offset them. This is why settlement expansion in these areas is equally if not more harmful to the
two-state solution than construction in the isolated settlements.” (APN’s They Say, We Say”)
They Say, We Say
"Why does the Left oppose construction in settlement blocs?"
"The term 'settlement bloc' merely describes an objective reality on the ground."
"Keeping settlement blocs is necessary for Israel’s security."
"Even the Palestinians know that settlement blocs are going to become part of Israel."
"American Jews have no business telling Israel not to build in the settlement blocs."
APN analysis
Op-ed by APN's Ori Nir, 4/20/2017: Israel’s Settlement
Blocs Block Prospects For Peace
United Nations Security Council – 10/14/16: Statement
by APN’s Lara Friedman
Op-ed by APN’s Lara Friedman and Shalom Achshav’s Hagit Ofran, 5/16/08: Settlement Stumbling Blocs
Settlements in Focus 5/12/08: Settlement Bloc(kage)s on
the Road to Peace"
Lara Friedman in Huffington Post: Bibi’s ‘Anti-Solutionism’ as
Cover for ‘Anti-Solution’ (11/4/15) and
Settlement
‘Solutionism’ Is Not the Answer (11/30/15)
Lara Friedman in Foreign Policy 8/31/10: Glib talk about settlements
harms peace efforts
We know that pro-Israel does not mean blindly supporting policies
that are irrational, reckless, and counter-productive. Pro-Israel means supporting policies that are consistent
with Israel's interests and promote its survival as a Jewish, democratic state.
You've heard the arguments of the religious and political right-wing, and so have we. They've had their say. Now, we'll have ours.
Go HERE for all installments of APN's "They Say, We Say"
American Jews have no business telling Israel not to build in the settlement blocs.
The American Jewish community bears a heavy burden of responsibility for the situation today in the occupied territories. For decades, American Jews and our community leaders and organizations have made excuses for Israeli policies, including with respect to settlements, and have worked to inoculate Israel from criticism and pressure. For decades, elements within the American Jewish community have actively supported and funded settlers and settlement projects whose clear mission is to prevent a peace agreement with the Palestinians and obstruct a two-state solution.
Now, 50 years into the occupation, it is time for the U.S. Jewish community to, belatedly, start to act responsibly – before it is too late. American Jews who care about Israel must end their head-in-the-sand approach to Israeli government policies, especially with respect to settlements. Israel’s future and its position in the world are in real jeopardy today, in no small part due to a U.S. Jewish community that has overlooked, made excuses for, funded (directly and indirectly) and otherwise enabled its self-defeating, immoral pro-settlement policies. Supporting Israel today means speaking truth to our Israeli brothers and sisters and to the Israeli government, and letting them know that American Jews, like the rest of the world, cannot rationalize or accept permanent Israeli occupation, and that we won’t be taken in by alternative facts or cynical manipulations meant to convince us that settlement expansion inside or outside the “settlement blocs” is consistent with peace and the achievement of a two-state solution.
