On Friday, 24 July 2015, Peace Now held it's annual conference in Tel Aviv under the title: Israel Now - Building an Alternative." With 1,200 participants, many of them youth, this was Peace Now's largest conference of all time. Some 60 speakers - including Members of Knesset, journalists, civil society leaders, experts and activists - participated in different panels focusing on the two state solution; international pressure; identity politics; the parliamentary opposition; and the struggle against silencing and de-legitimization of peace organizations. Another issue highlighted at the conference was the struggle against the demolition of Palestinian village of Susya, which is taking place these very days.

Watch highlights of the conference here:

The sub-committee for settlements of the higher planning committee of the military’s Civil Administration met yesterday to discuss 15 plans, at various planning stages and in different settlements. In total, the committee discussed plans that regard 1,065 housing units. Of these housing units, the plan approved 541 new housing units, retroactively legalized 228 existing housing units, and approved the development of infrastructure for a plan that consists of 296 housing units, while further approval will be needed before construction of the housing units can begin.
 

Americans for Peace Now (APN) today welcomed news that the Obama Administration and its P5+1 partners – France, Germany, the United Kingdom, Russia, and China – have reached an agreement with Iran to radically roll back and limit Iran’s nuclear program.  APN President and CEO Debra DeLee commented:

“We heartily congratulate President Obama and his P5+1 partners, and their indefatigable teams of expert negotiators, for the historic achievement announced today – an agreement that, when implemented, will verifiably roll back Iran’s nuclear program, limit Iran’s nuclear activities going forward, and prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.  It will also ensure that should Iran decide to break the terms of the deal and try to 'sneak out' to a nuclear weapon, both that the U.S. and international community have a far greater chance of detecting such an effort and are in a far stronger position to quickly determine the most effective course of action.

Following a Peace Now petition, the Israeli High Court of Justice ordered the demolition of 17 homes built on private Palestinian land at the illegal outpost of Derech Ha'avot. The State now has 90 days to appeal and it is considering a proposal by the Gush Etzion Regional Council to retroactively legalize the construction through a "re-parcellation" procedure. This proposal is a kind of legal acrobatics meant to confiscate lands without calling it a confiscation and it is clearly not legal. If this idea would be approved, the settlers could build anywhere, being sure that the land will be given to them eventually. Follow us as we continue the fight against illegal settlement construction.

Americans for Peace Now (APN) welcomes the Palestinian Authority's decision to summon its ambassador to Chile, following anti-Semitic comments that Ambassador Imad Nabil Jada' recently made in Santiago.

According to a statement issued by the Palestinian Authority last night, the PA's Foreign Minister, Riadh al-Maliki, summoned Jada' to Ramallah "for consultation and clarification" in regards to the statements he made in May, which were made public earlier this week.

Americans for Peace Now (APN) strongly condemns vile anti-Semitic statements made by the Palestine Liberation Organization’s ambassador to Chile, in which he denied the existence of a Jewish people, accused the Zionist movement of striving to “dominate life in the entire planet,” and hailed the forged “Protocols of the Elders of Zion” as recommended reading.

APN calls on Mahmoud Abbas, the Chairman of the PLO and the President of the Palestinian Authority, to repudiate the statements of his ambassador to Santiago, Imad Nabil Jada’, to dismiss him, and to remind Palestinian officials of the terrible impact of hate-speech on the cause of peace.

Washington, DC – Americans for Peace Now (APN) today welcomed the Obama Administration’s June 30 rejection of legislative language conflating Israel with West Bank settlements (full text of the State Department statement is copied below).  APN Director of Policy and Government Relations Lara Friedman commented:
 
“We welcome the State Department’s statement that U.S. policy regarding settlements remains unchanged. For months we have been warning of ongoing efforts by some in Congress, led by AIPAC and supported by various right-wing organizations, as well as by some in the current Israeli government, to change U.S. policy on this issue by stealth. These efforts seek to exploit concerns about boycotts, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) targeting Israel – concerns APN shares – as cover for legislation the true purpose and effect of which are to protect and promote settlements. 

For the first time, the government is requesting to officially take over private Palestinian land in order to legalize an unauthorized outpost, which is built, in part, on private Palestinian land. The request was presented to the Supreme Court as part of the State's reply to a petition filed by Peace Now and Palestinian land owners, against 17 houses built on private Palestinian lands in the Derech Ha'avot Ouptost, near Bethlehem.  The first hearing of the case will take place next Monday, 22 June at 9:00am.
 

Americans for Peace Now (APN) strongly condemns the murder of Dani Gonen, an Israeli citizen, in the West Bank near the settlement of Dolev, north west of Ramallah. Another Israeli was injured in the attack. APN sends its condolences to Gonen’s family and wishes quick and full recovery to the young man who was injured.

Today, as we join our fellow Americans in mourning the victims of the hate-crime in Charleston, South Carolina, and as we re-commit to fighting political violence, racism, and bigotry, Americans for Peace Now (APN) also condemns the torching and vandalizing of the Church of Loaves and Fishes in Israel.