APN at the UNSC October 14 - full statement

Statement by Lara Friedman, Americans for Peace Now
Delivered at the United Nations Security Council – October 14, 2016

The full statement can be viewed as a pdf here
Watch the full testimony here
View the post-meeting press conference here.

 

Distinguished members of the Security Council,

As a representative of Americans for Peace Now – an organization that is committed to Israel’s existence and its future – it is not easy for me to speak before this body today.

It is not easy because while this forum will focus in large part on human rights violations by Israel, there are states represented here whose own human rights records are abysmal. There are even states in this forum that still do not recognize the existence of Israel, 70 years after that nation’s birth and despite its membership in the UN’s General Assembly.

It is also not easy for me to speak here today because of the deteriorating political climate in Israel as far as democracy is concerned. For some time now we have been witnessing an ugly campaign against courageous Israeli human rights and civil society NGOs – carried out by reactionary groups in Israel and by the Israeli government itself. Campaigns that target the legitimacy of NGOs like our Israeli sister organization, Shalom Achshav – Peace Now.

These groups are being targeted because their work reveals facts that some prefer to hide – facts that challenge the official Israeli government narrative.

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APN/Peace Now in the News: October 1 – 7, 2016

J Weekly: October 2
A Shrine to Tolerance Shows Grave Insensitivity
By Ori Nir

The opinion piece by Rabbi Abraham Cooper (“Museum of Tolerance not being built atop Muslim cemetery,” Sept. 23) takes issue with my assertion that the Wiesenthal Center is knowingly building its Museum of Tolerance at the site of a historic Muslim cemetery and that bones of people buried there have been dug up to make room for the museum (“American Jewish progressives must act to defend their values in Israel,” Sept. 16).

My assertion is based on facts. These facts have been discussed in Israeli courts and in the Israeli public arena, and are included in Israel’s Supreme Court ruling. The heart of this ruling was not the question of whether there were skeletons buried where the museum now stands, but the manner in which the bones in the “Purple Zone” would be handled.

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Middle East Monitor: October 7
Monitoring group: West Bank settlement construction has quadrupled,” draws on Peace Now’s Settlement Watch data.

Wall Street Journal: October 5
Israel Defends Planned West Bank Construction,” an article on tension in US-Israel relations over settlements quotes Peace Now statistics.

LA Times: October 5
U.S. condemns Israel’s plan to create more housing in the West Bank,” Peace Now warns that new Shiloh construction may grow to 300 housing units.”

Times of Israel: October 5
US invokes Peres legacy in biting condemnation of settlement expansion,” Peace Now blasts Israeli government for approving hundred new homes for settlers in Shiloh.

Israel Hayom: October 2
Report: Nearly 100 housing units to replace Amona outpost,” quotes Peace Now’s responses to the advancement of plans for 98 settlement homes near Shiloh.

Jerusalem Post: October 1
Plans for 98 new settler homes advance,” Peace Now draws attention to the Israeli Higher Planning Council’s advancement of plans for 98 new homes in Shiloh settlement.

i24news: October 1
Israel approves 300 new West Bank settlement homes after Amona demolition order,” Peace Now says the Israeli government is set to approve construction of 300 new housing units near Shiloh.

News Nosh 10.10.16

APN's daily news review from Israel
Monday October 10, 2016  
 
NOTE: News Nosh will be off for Yom Kippur Tuesday and Wednesday, October 11-12.

Quote of the day:
"But even if the coming week passes completely or somewhat quietly, the occupation, Israeli oppression and Palestinian terror will continue to be present in the lives of both peoples."
--Maariv's analyst Yossi Melman discusses why the violence will continue.*
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News Nosh 10.09.16

APN's daily news review from Israel
Sunday October 9, 2016  
 
You Must Be Kidding: 
Israeli ambassador resorts to Facebook to find a translator after Shabbat to translate a public relations article in the French press related to the expected vote just at UNESCO regarding Jerusalem and the holy places.**


Breaking News:
An Israeli policeman and a civilian were killed when a Palestinian from E. Jerusalem, who was set to begin a sentence for assaulting a police officer, shot them in a drive-by shooting and wounded eight others in front of the Police Central Headquarters in Jerusalem. (Haaretz, Maan and Israel Hayom)
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The New York Times: At the Boiling Point With Israel

If the aim of the Israeli government is to prevent a peace deal with the Palestinians, now or in the future, it’s close to realizing that goal. Last week, it approved the construction of a new Jewish settlement in the West Bank, another step in the steady march under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to build on land needed to create a Palestinian state.

The Obama administration, with every justification, strongly condemned the action as a betrayal of the idea of a two-state solution in the Middle East. But Mr. Netanyahu obviously doesn’t care what Washington thinks, so it will be up to President Obama to find another way to preserve that option before he leaves office.

The best idea under discussion now would be to have the United Nations Security Council, in an official resolution, lay down guidelines for a peace agreement covering such issues as Israel’s security, the future of Jerusalem, the fate of Palestinian refugees and borders for both states. The United Nations previously laid down principles for a peace deal in Resolution 242(1967) and Resolution 338 (1973); a new one would be more specific and take into account current realities. Another, though weaker, option is for Mr. Obama to act unilaterally and articulate this framework for the two parties.

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News Nosh 10.07.16

APN's daily news review from Israel
Friday October 7, 2016  
 
You Must Be Kidding: 
"We have to mark the dream, and the dream is that Judea and Samaria will be part of the sovereign State of Israel. We have to act today, and we must give our lives. We can't keep marking the Land of Israel as a tactical target and a Palestinian state as the strategic target." 
--Israel's Education Minister and leader of Habayti Hayehudi party, Naftali Bennett.**
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Peace Now: The 98 Housing Units Promoted Near Shiloh: A New Settlement Indeed

News from Peace Now:

Last Saturday, Our Settlement Watch team exposed that the Civil Administration's Higher Planning Committee promoted a plan for a new settlement east of Shiloh. Today, following the statement issued by the U.S. State Department condemning this development, the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued its own statement, arguing that the 98 units that were promoted do not consist of a new settlement and do not expand the Shiloh's municipal boundaries.

These are the facts behind our analysis, which illustrate that this is indeed a new settlement:

1. The driving distance between the new settlement and Shilo is 2km (1km from Shvut Rachel).

2. The Municipal boundary of Shiloh was changed in May 2013 to including this new hill.

3. The fact that an area is included in the municipal boundary of a settlement means nothing about the location of it in or out of the existing settlement. According to our study of the municipal areas of settlements, the built-up area of the settlements takes only 9% of their jurisdiction. In other words, 91% of the municipal boundaries of the settlements is out of the built area of the settlement.

4. According to the protocol of the planning committee which took place last week, the architect who presented the plan said that "in terms of its functioning, the neighborhood could be independent, illustrating that this is a de-facto a new settlement, but the government needs politically to call it a neighborhood for political reasons.

For all of the reasons above, it is clear that the housing units promoted are not an integral part of Shiloh, but rather, a new settlement.

Peace Now's response to the U.S State Department's statement: "two weeks after President Obama approved a $38 billion security assistance package to Israel, Netanyahu chooses to thank him with a slap in face, and to illustrate that his commitment to settlers who stole private lands is more important to him than the true interests of the State of Israel."

Shiloh_10.6.2016

Americans for Peace Now
Americans for Peace Now: October 6, 2016

Please note that the APN offices will be closed next Wednesday, October 12, in observance of Yom Kippur.

 




"We strongly condemn the Israeli government's recent decision... Proceeding with this new settlement is another step towards cementing a one-state reality of perpetual occupation that is fundamentally inconsistent with Israel's future as a Jewish and democratic state."

State Department deputy spokesman Mark Toner, in a statement responding to Israel's plan for a new settlement to relocate residents of the illegal outpost of Amona.


Hard Questions, Tough Answers with Yossi Alpher

 

Yossi Alpher is an independent Israeli security analyst. Views and positions expressed here are those of the writer, and do not necessarily represent APN's views and policy positions.

Due to the holiday, there is no Hard Questions, Tough Answers this week.

Go HERE for previous editions, including last week's Outgoing Year, 5776.


Recommended Reading

APN's News Nosh - Daily News Summary from Israel

From today's News Nosh: Hebrew newspapers (with the usual exception of Israel Hayom) highlighted the unusually harsh statement that the US released against Israel for the latter’s latest settlement construction plans, (Israel rejected the criticism, blaming Palestinians for the lack of peace)...

Go HERE for more of today's headlines and news summary from Israel, and HERE to receive APN News Nosh as a daily email.


Government Relations

APN Legislative Round-Up: September 30, 2016

  1. Bills, Resolutions, and Letters
  2. Hearings II
  3. On the Record III

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Rosh Hashanah




APN wishes all a sweet and peaceful New Year


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APN volunteer Barbara Green begins her Rosh Hashana thoughts with: This is an awkward time of the year for some secular Jews like me.

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Settlement Watch

APN Condemns New Israeli Settlement Plan

Highlighted red circle above shows the area for the newly planned Israeli settlement in the West Bank, which will add to already existing settlements in the vicinity (shown in blue).

APN President and CEO Debra DeLee: "...the Netanyahu government is sending a message to settlers that it is an eager partner and collaborator in activities that are illegal under Israeli law...(and) a message to the Palestinians and the world that its rhetorical commitment to peace and a two-state solution is at best a cynical political cover."

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Go HERE for more on plans for a new West Bank settlement plus an industrial zone.

Go HERE for the joint Peace Now and Ir Amim report "Broken Trust: State Involvement in Private Settlement in Batan Al-Hawa, Silwan"


APN Events

APN's 6th Annual Professor Gerald B. Bubis Lecture in Southern California - Wednesday evening, November 30

The annual APN event, done in partnership with Valley Beth Shalom, will feature Daniel Levy, President of the US/Middle East Partnership, an internationally known expert on Israeli affairs. More information to come.


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News Nosh 10.06.16

APN's daily news review from Israel
Thursday October 6, 2016  
 
Quote of the day:
"Our group includes women and men together. We want a dialogue in feminine form, with more compassion, listening… We want women's representation among the staff of committees, of (peace) talks, (we want there) to be women in the accords there. And we are together, women and men, but the voice we want to sound is the women's attitude."
--Ulfat Haider, one of the 2000 women who began marching for peace this week.**
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Today (October 5th, 2016) Peace Now and Ir Amim jointly released a new report on settlement planning in one of the most sensitive and volatile areas in Jerusalem, in a Palestinian neighborhood in the heart of Silwan. The report,  "Broken Trust: State Involvement in Private Settlement in Batan Al-Hawa, Silwan." The report describes how, since 2001, the Ateret Cohanim settler organization has been working to transform Batan al-Hawa into a large Israeli settlement through sales without tender, questionable acquisition of Palestinian properties, forced eviction and removal of Palestinian families who have lived in the neighborhood for decades. If the settlers are successful, Batan al-Hawa will become the largest settlement compound in a Palestinian neighborhood in the Historic Basin of the Old City,  significantly tightening the emerging ring of settlements around the Old City, creating,"an irreversible reality" and severely undermining the possibility of a future two state solution.

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