In his meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas today, President Trump vowed to work with the leaders of Israel and the Palestinians to broker peace. "We will get this done," Trump declared.
Washington, DC - Americans for Peace Now (APN) commends Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and his staff for acknowledging the important role that Israel’s civil society and particularly Israeli progressive non-profit organizations play in Israeli society.
News from Peace Now:
For maps and pictures see here: http://peacenow.org.il/en/new-outpost-adam
Peace Now has learnt that presently a new outpost is being established. The outpost is located beyond the fence
surrounding Adam settlement (aka Geva Binyamin), southeast from Ramallah and beyond the Separation Barrier.
This is the first outpost that is being established since the Israeli government declared a new policy towards
settlement construction. The policy stated that settlement construction would be limited to within the “built up
area” or "the footprint" of a settlement and that creation of new illegal outposts would be prohibited. Needless
to say is that by being constructed outside the fence of Adam, the new outpost is not only a new outpost, but
also beyond the “built up area” of the settlement, regardless of the lack in a clear definition to what “built up area” means.
News from Peace Now:
Americans for Peace Now (APN) joins its Israeli sister organization Peace Now (Shalom Achshav) in condemning the Israeli government's decision to establish a new settlement in the West Bank, to publish tenders for some 2,000 new homes in West Bank settlements and to take measures that would allow for the retroactive legalization of three outposts built illegally, without initial government approval, in the West Bank.
APN also joins Peace Now's condemnation of the Israeli Cabinet's new policy of so-called "restraint," which in practice would allow it to continue with its unhindered expansion anywhere in the West Bank, including settlements adjacent to the Green Line ("settlement blocs"), more distant settlements, and East Jerusalem.
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.
Since the mid-1990s, the settlers established nearly 100 illegal outposts and built dozens of neighborhoods and illegal projects in many settlements. In 2015 alone 15% of the units constructed in the settlements was illegal.
During the past year, Settlement Watch conducted extensive research on illegal construction in settlements and
outposts. The data collected exposes a process parallel to the official planning process in the settlements – that
of illegal construction. This parallel process is what allows for thousands of housing units to remain on the
ground, and be connected to roads and infrastructure.
Americans for Peace Now strongly condemns new Israeli legislation adopted today by the Knesset, which would ban entry to Israel of foreign nationals who support or publicly engage in boycotts of either Israel or West Bank settlements.
APN's President and CEO Debra DeLee said: "This new draconian law is a severe blow to Israeli democracy. It is aimed at a basic civil liberty, the freedom of expression, and will severely harm Israel by keeping out some of its greatest supporters.
Americans for Peace Now (APN) issued this following statement following today's joint press conference by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Donald Trump in the White House:
President Trump and Prime Minister Netanyahu's press conference today presented an opportunity for the two leaders to signal to Israelis, Palestinians, Americans and the world a clear commitment to peace. It was an opportunity to signal that they can chart a constructive way forward for U.S.-Israel relations and for Israel's future, for its security and its well-being as a democracy and a Jewish state.
Netanyahu and Trump squandered this opportunity.
Press Release: APN to Netanyahu: Demonstrate Real Leadership and Statesmanship in Meeting with Trump
Washington, DC – Americans for Peace Now (APN) today issued this following statement on the eve of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's first meeting with Donald Trump since Trump was inaugurated as president of the United States:
This past weekend, before leaving for Washington, Prime Minister Netanyahu told his Cabinet: 'I have navigated Israeli-U.S. relations in a prudent manner, and I will continue to do so now.'