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Residents of the condemned West Bank outpost of Migron have appealed the High Court to stay the demolition of the settlement's illegal structures on Tuesday, claiming that they had recently purchased the land on which the homes were built.
However, a preliminary inspection of the purported sale reveals that the Palestinian whom the settlers claim sold them the land passed away in 2011, one year before the alleged transaction.
Israel to begin recording settler land claims, deny Palestinians' right of appeal
After 45 years of running the West Bank, the State of Israel plans to start compiling land registry records of assets controlled by settlers. The registry would bypass regular tabu land-listing processes, and appears designed to prevent Palestinians from appealing the validity of the ownership listings.
IDF holds drill in Palestinian village
The IDF held an urban warfare drill in the Palestinian village of al-Aqabah in the northeastern West Bank, Ynet learned Tuesday.
The drill was held according to the military's training protocol. The IDF has recently resumed training in designated live-fire zones in the Jordan Rift Valley – even those riddled with some Palestinian and Bedouin villages.
Israelis, Palestinians: 2 states in 5 years unlikely
Most Israelis and Palestinians view the chances of establishing an independent Palestinian state within the next five years as low or nonexistent, a new joint Israeli-Palestinian poll reported.
Meanwhile, the majority of Israelis oppose military intervention in Syria and an unaided strike on Iran, the latter of which they agree could spark the eruption of a major regional war, according to the survey.
West Bank faces cash crisis after $100m IMF request is rejected
Palestinians in the West Bank are facing more financial hardship after a plan to borrow US$100 million (Dh367m) was rejected because they have no state of their own.
The plan called for Israel to borrow the money from the International Monetary Fund and then turn it over to the Palestinian Authority to prevent its financial collapse. The PA would repay the loan to Israel, which in turn would repay the IMF.
Ashrawi condemns violence against Ramallah protesters
PLO official Hanan Ashrawi on Monday condemned the violent suppression of weekend protests in Ramallah.
Palestinian Authority police attacked demonstrators at a rally Saturday against a proposed meeting between President Mahmoud Abbas and Israel's vice premier. A day later, police used brutal force at a demonstration against police brutality.
Palestinian dispute hits UN global arms treaty talks
Talks on the $70 billion a year global arms trade talks hit deadlock before starting Monday amid a diplomatic battle over Palestinian representation.
Arab demands that Palestinians be allowed to take part led to a threat of an Israeli walkout and a block on European Union presence at the conference, diplomats said. Even the Vatican has been drawn into the dispute.
"This chaotic start is a tragedy for this event, which is so important," said a minister from a western nation who went to the UN headquarters for the start of the negotiations.
After Arab Spring, Abbas discovers importance of public opinion in PA
Several hours after an official from Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud's Abbas' office leaked to the media that a planned meeting with Vice Prime Minister Shaul Mofaz would not take place, the latter's aides claimed that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was behind the move.
This reaction was both immature and condescending, reflecting a characteristic Israeli response to Abbas' moves - as if the Palestinian leaderhas no will of his own, no independent interestsand especially no public opinion to take into consideration.
Palestinians humiliated by their own
The security men delivered a beating like there was no tomorrow, as if they were defending their lives. No, it wasn't the riot police in Tel Aviv, but rather the Palestinian police in Ramallah. On Saturday, cautiously and moderately in comparison with their Israeli counterparts, and again on Sunday with mounting brutality, the Palestinian police tried to prevent a small group of demonstrators from advancing on the grand presidential compound, the Muqata.
Israelis and Palestinians Share Intrigue over Cancelled Meeting
It has been almost two years since Israeli and Palestinian officials at the most senior level have sat down together. That was supposed to happen on Sunday, when Palestinian Authority Mahmoud Abbas had invited Israeli Vice Premier Shaul Mofaz to come to Ramallah. But that meeting was called off after a series of domestic events in Israel and the Palestinian Authority made it impossible.
Israel Confronts Strangers In Its Midst
What shall be done about the large number of non-citizens that dwell in Israel? This question is no longer merely vexing, it is urgent, inflammatory, sometimes violent, often vulgar.
The ger has a long and detailed history in Jewish texts and thought. Its conventional translation is “stranger,” but you don’t have to search hard to find alternatives: sojourner, foreigner, alien.
Reach Out to Morsy
Egypt's new president, the Muslim Brotherhood's Mohammed Morsy, is not a man after my own heart. He represents a movement that seeks to apply religious norms to a secular state -- even as he vows to represent all people, including Coptic Christians and liberals. Clearly, at some point in the near future, he will face the necessary conflicts between liberty and human rights on the one hand and his religious precepts on the other, and we cannot know how he will resolve them.
Palestinians face the real police violence – with no right to demonstrate
Difficult questions about the thin line between legitimate protest and disturbing the peace have been raised by demonstrations organized by Israel's social protest movement and the methods used to police these events raise. What makes a protest legitimate? Is it the measure of 'righteousness' inherent in the cause? Or is it just a permit to demonstrate authorized by the police? And what makes a protest 'just'? Does justice exist only in the eye of the beholder? Or in the eyes of the political camps that we identify with?
Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions Put Allies at Odds
As a long-time advocate for peaceful resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, I am pained that frustration over failure to achieve a just and lasting peace has led allies in the struggle to end up at odds over tactics like boycotts, divestment and sanctions (BDS).
Two years ago, the organization I head, J Street, was honored with an invitation to speak at a breakfast hosted by a Presbyterian Church (USA) peacemaking group -- a long-time ally in the struggle for Middle East peace. But we attended with heavy hearts.
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