Washington, DC – Americans for Peace Now (APN) joins its Israeli sister organization, Shalom Achshav (Peace Now) in strongly condemning the Israeli government’s decision to take over West Bank Palestinian absentee land east of the Palestinian city of Ramallah, apparently in order to relocate Israeli settlers who have been evacuated from the illegal outpost of Amona.
News from Peace Now's (Israel) Settlement Watch:
Earlier this month, this relocation idea was raised by the regularization committee, a committee established by the government to find a solution for the illegal outposts issue. On August 7, 2016, the Attorney General, Avichai Mandelblit, stated that he will consider the option of moving Amona to a nearby absentees' property despite "weighty legal issues."
News from Peace Now's (Israel) Settlement Watch:
The Attorney General, Avichai Mandelblit, stated yesterday (August 7, 2016) that he will consider the option
of moving Amona to a nearby absentees' property despite "weighty legal issues." The option was proposed to him
by a committee established by the government to find a solution of the illegal outposts issue. Approving the
committee's legal opinion will consist of a sharp change of Israeli policy thus far, and contradict decisions of
the Supreme Court, according to which private land cannot be used for the purpose of settlements. Such an approval
will expose Israel to lawsuits and create a precedent that could lead to the doubling of the land taken up by
settlements.
Peace Now: "The Attorney General is signaling that he is willing to approve the stealing of private lands of
absentees for settlers who themselves stole private lands against the law. The extrapolation of the AG approving
this option is that from now on, absentees' property could be leased to the settlers, despite of the fact that
these are private properties. The government's willingness to politically compensate the settlers of Amona, who
settled on private Palestinian land, is leading to devastating consequences on the ground and to the distortion of
Israel's moral and legal systems."
News from Peace Now's (Israel) Settlement Watch:
on Amona: a Crossing of a Red Line
This morning the Army Radio reported that the committee established by the government to find a
solution of the illegal outposts issue recently submitted a legal opinion to the Attorney General according to
which it is possible to use the absentees’ property in the case of the illegal outpost of Amona. The committee’s
idea is to take private Palestinian lands in the nearby plot to where Amona is today, whose owners do not live
in the West Bank, and lease them to the settlers of Amona through a lease that will be renewed every three
years. This way, the settlers of the illegal outpost, which must be evacuated by the end of December due to a
High Court ruling, will be able to live close by to where the outpost is located today. AG Avichai Mendelblit
will soon announce whether he intends to accept or reject the legal opinion.
Peace Now: "Accepting the legal opinion of the committee and thereby violating private
property rights in the Occupied Territories will constitute the crossing of a red line. The acceptance of the legal
opinion would have dire consequences on a future peace agreement as it could lead to the establishment of dozens of
new settlements and to the multiplying of the land taken up by settlements in the West Bank. The Israeli government
cannot justify the stealing of private lands of absentees only to please the demands of settlers who themselves
stole private lands against the law."
News from Peace Now's (Israel) Settlement Watch:
89 units in Gilo
This week, on the first anniversary of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), Americans for Peace Now (APN) celebrated the achievement of this historic deal – a deal that has already proven itself by radically rolling back and limiting Iran’s nuclear program.
APN President and CEO Debra DeLee commented:
“We reiterate today our thanks and congratulations to President Obama and his P5+1 partners – France, Germany, the United Kingdom, Russia, and China – on this historic agreement and its ongoing implementation. A year on, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) has proven itself a clear win for the American people, for U.S. leadership, for U.S. national security and, we believe, for Israel. Already this agreement has dramatically and verifiably rolled back Iran’s nuclear program, stringently limited Iran’s ongoing and future nuclear activities, and taken off the table what pre-JCPOA was the looming threat of Iran obtaining a nuclear weapon in the foreseeable future. The implementation of the JCPOA also ensures that, where in the past the U.S. and international community had very limited means to monitor Iran’s activities, today, should Iran decide to break the terms of the deal and try to ‘sneak out’ to a nuclear weapon, there is a far greater chance such an effort would be detected and the U.S. and its allies would be in a far stronger position to respond effectively.
Israel’s Peace Now Movement to Challenge New NGO Law before Israel’s Supreme Court
Washington, DC -- Americans for Peace Now (APN) joins its Israeli sister organization, Peace Now (Shalom Achshav) in strongly condemning the new NGO Law, adopted last night by the Knesset, as a blatant violation of freedom of expression. APN supports Peace Now’s intention to challenge the new law before Israel’s Supreme Court.
As Peace Now points out, this law is tailored specifically to target only peace and human rights organizations. It intends to divert the Israeli public discourse away from the occupation, and to silence opposition to the government's policies.
News from Peace Now's (Israel) Settlement Watch:
On July 6, 2016 the High Planning Committee of the Civil Administration convened in order to discuss and approve
construction plans in the settlements. The committee discussed the approval of 531 housing units in Ma'ale Adumim
and the plan to retroactively legalize the illegal outpost of Horesh Yaron, which is located west of Ramallah.
Since the beginning of 2016 construction plans for 1,823 housing units in the settlements were promoted. out of the
1,823, 314 are retroactive plans for housing units which were built illegally. It is important to note that the
Quartet Report's criticism on Israel's settlement policy focused specifically on retroactive legalization of
illegal outposts and illegal construction.
Additionally, yesterday, July 10 2016, the government approved a transfer approximately 50 Million Shekels to
Kiryat Arba and Hebron.
Peace Now: The promotion of plans in Ma'ale Adumim and the retroactive legalization of an
illegal outpost are a slap in the face of the Quartet. Netanyahu is signaling to Israel's most important allies
that he is not interested in peace and two states but rather in the continuation of the occupation.
News from Peace Now's (Israel) Settlement Watch:
News from Peace Now's (Israel) Settlement Watch:
Today, (Wednesday, 6th of July) the Israeli Ministry of Housing issued a tender for the construction
of 42 housing units in Kiryat Arba. The tender was issued today but bids can only be submitted at the 31st of
July. This means that the Government wanted to publish the tender quickly, before the paperwork is completed, in
order to make the connection between the deadly attacks against Israelis last week and the promotion of the
construction in Kiryat Arba.
Peace Now: "Construction in settlements is not an answer to terrorism; it is not going to
save the life of any Israeli but rather strengthen the extremists on both sides. The real answer to terrorism is
ending the occupation and reaching a negotiated peace agreement. Unfortunately, Israeli citizens continue to pay
the price of the extreme right wing government's policies."