Statement - West Bank Shooting of American Citizen

September 6, 2024- Americans for Peace Now is outraged by the death of American citizen Aysenur Eygi at the hands of the IDF in the occupied West Bank and urges a swift and independent investigation of the circumstances that caused her death. APN conveys its deepest condolences to Eygi’s family.

This heartbreaking event underscores the urgent need for a thorough, independent, and transparent US-led investigation to determine the facts surrounding her death, including whether US-supplied weapons or materiel were involved –in violation of the Leahy Law. Eygi’s family deserves justice and the American people deserve accountability. 

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Statement- The Murder of the Hostages

Ori Danino

Carmel Gat

Hersh Goldberg-Polin

Alexander Lobanov

Almog Sarusi

Eden Yerushalmi

Six hostages, murdered in cold blood by Hamas. Six hostages each of whom survived 11 terrible months of captivity only to be killed before they could be reunited with their families. Six souls, kidnapped and murdered by Hamas, and abandoned by their own government.

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Statement- New Sanctions on Extremist Settlers

August 28 2024- Americans for Peace Now strongly supports the Biden Administration’s imposition of new sanctions on extremist West Bank settlers and the institutions of Occupation. 

The sanctions on “farm outpost” Hashomer Yosh are long overdue: as our sister organization Peace Now reported in 2021, “the association supports at least 28 illegal outposts across the West Bank…Thus, with a relatively small investment (one family and a few young boys who herd sheep or cows upon a hill), settlers are able to take over huge amounts of land and dispossess Palestinian farmers from that same land.” The organization receives Israeli government funding and has been involved in violence against Palestinians.

Yitzhak Filant, “security officer” for the Yitzhar settlement, has played a major role in coordinating similar violent attacks against the residents of Palestinian villages.

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Statement- Rescuing Kaid Farhan Al-Qadi

August 27, 2024- Americans for Peace Now welcomes the successful rescue of Israeli citizen Kaid Farhan Al-Qadi by the IDF from Hamas captivity. As his brother said, “May all the hostages return, and may all the families feel this feeling.”

For that to happen, Prime Minister Netanyahu and Hamas leader Sinwar must stop stonewalling a ceasefire agreement with Hamas. Despite intensive efforts by the U.S., Egypt, Qatar and the international community, the Israeli government and Hamas are apparently still insisting on conditions that delay or forestall an agreement. Many hostages remain alive in captivity under terrible circumstances; conditions in Gaza are desperate and more aid shipments and rebuilding must commence; and both Palestinians and Israelis are still dying and living in the terror and misery of an ongoing war.

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Statement- Trump and Netanyahu Delaying Ceasefire Agreement

August 21, 2024- Americans for Peace Now strongly condemns the apparent plan by former President Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu to delay a ceasefire agreement, as reported by many news outlets. In addition to violating the Logan Act, which prohibits private citizens from influencing official US government negotiations, the cynical pact to deny peace, the return of the hostages and desperately-needed aid to rebuild Gaza substantiates the claim that ceasefire negotiations are hampered by Netanyahu’s and Trump’s personal political objectives.

“Donald Trump was terrible for Israel and Palestine when he was President,” said Hadar Susskind, President and CEO of APN. “Now, if as a private citizen he is impeding a ceasefire solution, he is violating the Logan Act and endangering the innocent lives of Israeli hostages and Palestinian civilians.

“As many top Israeli officials have said on the record, it is clear that Netanyahu is delaying a ceasefire to placate his far-right coalition partners who only support continued war and destruction. The latest reports confirm that he continues to sabotage an agreement. Trump should remove himself from the process, and Netanyahu should take the deal, bring the hostages home and end the war – now.”

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Statement- Israel Government Approval of New West Bank Settlement

August 14, 2024- Americans for Peace Now strongly condemns the Israeli government’s announcement of approval for a new settlement, Nahal Heletz, between Jerusalem and Bethlehem. The settlement is deliberately designed to disrupt the contiguity of an eventual Palestinian state, as acknowledged by Finance Minister and settler leader Bezalel Smotrich.

In formally approving the first new settlement to be announced since 2017, the Israeli government is defying the Biden Administration and the international community, who rightfully insist that new settlements are an obstacle to a resolution of the conflict. The location of this settlement also encroaches on the Palestinian village of Battir, home to ancient hillside agricultural terraces that have been designated a world heritage site by UNESCO.

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July 18, 2024- Americans for Peace Now expresses profound disappointment and strong opposition to the Israeli Knesset's recent resolution rejecting the two-state solution and the formation of a Palestinian state. This resolution undermines the longstanding ​position of Israeli governments across the political spectrum and contradicts the enduring stance of the United States. ​

The United States has made it unequivocally clear that no party should take unilateral steps to alter final status issues, which would ​threaten the prospects of achieving a two-state solution. This Knesset resolution, passed just days before Prime Minister Netanyahu's visit to the United States, is deeply troubling and is a direct affront to the President and all who are committed to a two-state solution.

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Statement Regarding Additional Sanctions on Settlers and Organizations

July 11, 2024- Americans for Peace Now welcomes the imposition of new sanctions on violent leaders, participants in and organizations representing Israel’s far-right settler movement. Having used the terrible toll of the war in Gaza as an excuse and a shield for their escalating violence and land appropriation in the West Bank, these settlers and outposts deserve to be sanctioned by the U.S. and the international community.

Reut Ben-Haim has taken a leading role in stopping desperately-needed aid convoys headed to Gaza. APN’s sister organization, Peace Now, reports that farm outposts now sanctioned “are part of a broader system of agricultural farms strategically positioned to prevent Palestinians from accessing and reclaiming extensive lands in the West Bank.” The leader of Lehava, a racist “anti-miscegenation” organization, was previously sanctioned by the Biden Administration in March.

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Statement- Americans for Peace Now Elects Lisa Greer to Board of Directors

June 28, 2024- Americans for Peace Now is pleased to welcome Lisa Greer to the organization’s Board of Directors.

Lisa Greer is a philanthropist, nonprofit advisor, and convener. She is the author of the bestselling Philanthropy Revolution and the newly released The Essential Fundraiser's Handbook. Currently, Lisa serves as commissioner of the California State Commission on the Status of Women and Girls, where she sits on the Executive Committee. She also serves on the international board of the New Israel Fund as well as the Executive Committee of the Cedars-Sinai Board of Governors. Earlier in her career, Lisa was a studio executive at NBC and Universal Studios, and she founded and led several companies including a management consulting and strategic advisory firm specializing in digital media and entertainment businesses.

Hadar Susskind, President and CEO of APN, said: “I am thrilled to welcome Lisa to our board and to continue working with her in this new capacity. I know she will make a great addition to our group of devoted, conscientious board members, especially as we move ahead with our merger with Ameinu and the launch of the new organization.”

APN’s Chair of the Board, James Klutznick, said: “Lisa is an important leader in our sector, and we are pleased to have her bring her commitment to peace and justice to the board of APN."
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Statement- Israeli Government's Move Towards West Bank Annexation

June 24, 2024- As the New York Times reports, Israeli Finance Minister and settler leader Bezalel Smotrich is well on his way to achieving his goal: annexation of the West Bank. On May 29, the IDF’s website noted that enforcement of several key laws governing the West Bank had been transferred from military to civilian authority, under Smotrich’s direction in his other role as a senior official in the Defense Ministry. He has proposed four new West Bank settlements and attempted to impose sanctions on the Palestinian Authority, all in retaliation for other nations’ formal recognition of Palestine. APN’s sister organization in Israel, Peace Now, was responsible for making a recording of Smotrich’s remarks available to the media.

Americans for Peace Now warns that annexation of the West Bank is no longer a settler pipe dream, but a reality occurring while the world’s attention is focused on the war in Gaza.  Transferring powers from the military to civilian control amounts to legal annexation under international law, and makes a mockery of American policy supporting a two-state solution. Smotrich makes no secret of his intentions to “change the system’s DNA” and smash any possibility of Palestinian autonomy or statehood in the West Bank for once and for all.

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