Report: US envoy Indyk to end duties, dissolve negotiating team
Israeli media quoted an unnamed US source as saying that in the coming days Washington's special envoy for Israeli-Palestinian negotiations will end his duties as the negotiating team is dissolved.
Israeli news website Maariv quoted a top official on Wednesday as saying that Martin Indyk was ending his duties due to the "failure" of the peace process, for which he held Israel primarily responsible.
The official also said that following Indyk's departure, a senior adviser to Secretary of State John Kerry on Middle East issues, Frank Lowenstein, would receive future contacts with the Palestinian Authority.
The report added that based on the estimates of the US administration the peace talks are stalled and will not be restarted under current secretary John Kerry, but that there might be attempts to do so under a new secretary of state.
Indyk will return to his role at the Brookings Institute, where he was vice president and director of Foreign Policy prior to serving as a Middle East peace envoy, according to the report.
Al-Hamdallah: "No Peace Agreement, Or Truce, Without Releasing All Detainees"
Palestinian Prime Minister, Rami al-Hamdallah, stated there can be no peace with Israel, or even a truce, without the release of all Palestinian political prisoners held by the Israeli occupation.
His statements came while talking to protesters in front of the Red Cross office in al-Biereh town, near the central West Bank city of Ramallah, the Watan News Agency has reported.
Hundreds of Palestinians held their weekly protest in front of the Red Cross, demanding the release of their detained family members, and demanding an end to the illegitimate Israeli occupation of Palestine.
He said that the Palestinian government is holding talks with various countries and international human rights groups to ensure the release of all detainees.
Head of the Palestinian Prisoners Society (PPS), Qaddoura Fares, demanded all factions to meet, discuss the issue of the detainees, and to determine an agenda and a plan for supporting the detainees and their cause, locally, regionally and internationally.
On his part, Hasan Yousef, a political leader of Hamas, declared his movement's support of any agreement that would help and support the detainees, and that Palestinian unity plays an essential role in advancing their cause.
Meanwhile, Palestinian detainees, held by Israel under arbitrary Administrative Detention policies without charges, are ongoing with their hunger strike they started 27 days ago, while a number of striking detainees are in very serious health conditions.
Livni under attack for meeting Abbas
Israel's chief negotiator Tzipi Livni came under attack on Sunday for talks with President Mahmoud Abbas, with senior officials insisting there was no intention to resume peace negotiations.
Thursday's meeting in London was the first between the two sides since the collapse last month of the latest round of talks, and came after both held separate talks with US Secretary of State John Kerry.
But Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office and ministers quickly moved to distance themselves from the Livni-Abbas meeting, insisting it was private and did not signal any official intention to resume talks with the PLO.
Israel pulled out of the talks in mid-April, saying it would not negotiate with any Palestinian government supported by Hamas after the leadership in the West Bank signed a unity deal with the rival Islamist rulers of Gaza.
Although Netanyahu was reportedly angered by the meeting, he knew about it in advance and communicated his concerns to Livni, an official in his office said, the implication being that he had not moved to block the talks.
"Prime Minister Netanyahu made clear to Minister Livni even before her meeting with Abu Mazen (Abbas) that she would be representing only herself and not the government of Israel," the official said.
"Netanyahu made it clear to Minister Livni that Israel's position, as decided unanimously by the (security) cabinet, was that the Israeli government will not conduct negotiations with a Palestinian government supported by Hamas, a terror organization whose declared intention is the destruction of Israel."
Intelligence Minister Yuval Steinitz, a hardliner close to Netanyahu, was quick to criticize Livni.
"I don't know of any civilized Western country where a minister would meet, on his own initiative, the head of an authority or state in a period of crisis and tension," he said at the start of the cabinet meeting, in remarks broadcast on army radio.
"It doesn't look good and it isn't right."
Speaking on Channel 2's Meet the Press on Saturday, Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman also insisted the meeting had been private.
"It's true that Livni met Abu Mazen, but these were certainly not negotiations," he said, calling it a "private" initiative, and noting that Livni herself had voted in favor of the security cabinet decision to freeze talks with any government backed by Hamas.
Following the intra-Palestinian unity deal, Hamas is working with the PLO to piece together an interim government of political independents which is to be announced in the coming days.
Abbas has insisted the government will follow his policy of recognizing Israel, rejecting violence and abiding by past peace agreements, while Hamas has said the new administration will not have a political mandate.
Middle East Quartet to recognize Palestinian upcoming national gov: Israeli source
The Middle East Quartet is to recognize the upcoming Palestinian national unity government in case Hamas doesn't participate directly in it, Israeli political sources said Sunday. According to Israeli National Radio the Middle East Quartet is to issue a statement soon aims "to put obstacles in front of Israel as it tries to persuade the international community to boycott this new Palestinian government."
The sources also predicted that the Quartet would demand this government to recognize Israel and the agreements signed with it previously.
On 24th ,April , after four years of conflict and division, the two main rival Palestinian factions, Hamas and Fatah, signed a reconciliation agreement and committed to forming a technocratic government prior to elections.
Israeli hardliner predicts rapid settlement growth in West Bank
Israel's ultra-nationalist construction minister – whose actions have been blamed by some US officials for torpedoing the peace process – has predicted an explosion of settlement activity in the next five years on the occupied West Bank. Uri Ariel, a member of the hardline Jewish Home party, which is part of Binyamin Netanyahu's rightwing coalition government, predicted in a radio interview on Friday that the number of settlers could grow by 50% by 2019.
The US special envoy to the Middle East peace talks, Martin Indyk, recently cited "rampant settlement activity" as a key factor in the breakdown of the talks last month.
During the nine months of failed peacemaking, Ariel published tenders for settlement construction that were cited by the US as having contributed to the impasse by convincing the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, that Netanyahu was not serious about reaching an accord.
Most controversially, Ariel was accused of re-announcing an old tender to build 700 more housing units in East Jerusalem in the midst of frantic last-minute efforts to salvage the talks, condemning them to collapse.
Palestinians want the West Bank as part of their future state and blamed settlement expansions for the breakdown last month of US-mediated peace talks with Israel – a position supported in part by Washington, but rejected by the Israelis.
Ariel told the Tel Aviv radio station 102 FM that negotiations on Palestinian statehood were in their "dying throes".
"I think that in five years there will be 550,000 or 600,000 Jews in Judea and Samaria, rather than 400,000 [now]," he said, using a biblical term for the West Bank.
About 2.5 million Palestinians live in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, areas which, along with the Gaza Strip, Israel captured in a 1967 war.
Jewish Home opposes Palestinian statehood altogether, raising speculation in Israel that Netanyahu, in the unlikely event of a diplomatic breakthrough, would eject the party from his coalition.
On Friday thousands of Palestinians turned out to bury two youths shot and killed by Israeli soldiers a day earlier during protests to commemorate the 66th anniversary of the Nakba, or "catastrophe" of the expulsion of 750,000 Palestinians in 1948.
The two youths were shot in the chest while protesting near Israel's Ofer prison, near the central West Bank city of Ramallah.
Lieberman: "Israel Has An Alternate Plan For Peace"
Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman stated that his Ministry has an alternate plan to use following the collapse of direct talks with the Palestinians, and that he presented his plan to Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu.
Lieberman said the time has not come for officially presenting his "alternate plan", but it could be presented, later on, depending on developments, the Maan News Agency has reported.
Speaking to Israel's Channel 2, Lieberman alleged that Palestinian President, Mahmoud Abbas, became an obstacle, as he "failed to be a partner in peace", and it became "impossible to reach a compromise with him".
Lieberman further stated that Israel should be holding talks with Palestinian businessmen who reject Hamas, adding that many businessmen, in the West Bank and abroad, "can be talked to and are willing to discuss plans".
The official, a settler himself living in an illegal settlement in the West Bank, said there are differences in stances between the United States and Israel, and added that "even close friends differ, and commit mistakes".
"The Americans are mistaken, especially when it comes to Israel's settlement activities", Lieberman stated, "The were also mistaken when the forced Israel to accept the Hamas rule after the Palestinian elections of 2006".
Lieberman, who chairs Israel Our Home fundamentalist party, and once a member of the extreme, Israeli-outlawed Kach movement, served several positions in Israel and its Knesset.
He was also known for his statements against the Arabs in the country, considering them a "strategic threat" to Israel, and sometimes describing them as a "demographic threat", in addition of his calls for "transferring the Palestinians" to Arab countries, and other smaller parts in Palestine.
Abbas meets Livni in London
Israel's Justice Minister and chief negotiator Tzipi Livni met Thursday night with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in London, Israeli media sources revealed. The meeting, which coincides with the 66th anniversary of Nakba and the martyrdom of two Palestinians near Ofer barrier, was the first meeting between the PA president and a senior Israeli official since peace talks collapsed last month.
Livni stressed during the meeting the "gravity" of Abbas's formation of a unity government between his Fatah party and Hamas, saying Israel could not hold peace talks with a government supported by Hamas, according to Israeli Channel 2 News.
The sources added that Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu "is furious" with Livni over her initiative especially that he did not know in advance of the meeting.
American officials confirmed to Israel's Channel 2 News that the meeting between Abbas and Livni was unplanned, and that it was spontaneously arranged since both parties happened to be in London in order to clarify Abbas's position concerning the negotiation process after the reconciliation agreement.
Both Palestinian and Israeli sources did not provide further details about Abbas's positions during the meeting. However, Abbas has repeatedly stressed that talks resumption is linked to halt of settlement construction and the release of the fourth batch of prisoners.
US Secretary of State John Kerry met Wednesday with Abbas to discuss American-Palestinian relations, and Thursday with Livni in "an informal meeting".
Meanwhile, Netanyahu renewed his demand to Abbas to choose between reconciliation with Hamas and peace with Israel.
In a meeting with US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel on Friday morning in occupied Jerusalem, Netanyahu said "our Palestinian partners have reached an agreement with Hamas, recognized as terrorist organization by US".
"I think the Palestinians have to make a simple choice, a pact with Hamas or peace with Israel, but they can't have both," he said.
TV: Israelis, Palestinians in first meet since talks collapse
Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas and Israel's chief negotiator Tzipi Livni met in London for the first time since the collapse of their US-sponsored peace talks, Israeli television reported Friday.
A Palestinian official, contacted by AFP, confirmed the meeting between Abbas and Livni, Israel's justice minister, on Thursday in London.
"Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was informed of the meeting but was angered by it," according to Israel's Channel 2 television.
US Secretary of State John Kerry held what were termed informal talks in London this week separately with both Livni and Abbas, who traveled on to Venezuela.
A US official said Kerry gave both sides the same message -- that the fate of the talks lies in the hands of the Israelis and Palestinians.
Kerry coaxed the Israelis and the Palestinians back to the negotiating table in July 2013 after a three-year hiatus, and both sides agreed to keep talking for nine months.
But peace efforts derailed even ahead of an April 29 deadline.
Update: Kerry 'concerned' about Palestinian deaths at Ofer protest
US Secretary of State John Kerry Thursday met with Israel's chief peace negotiator Tzipi Livni in London, just weeks after his relentless bid to broker a treaty with the Palestinians came screeching to a halt.
US officials confirmed that the top American diplomat had held surprise talks with Israeli Justice Minister Livni, as they took advantage of both being in London at the same time for different meetings.
Kerry voiced concern after two Palestinians were shot dead by Israeli forces Thursday during a protest outside the Ofer prison near Ramallah, on the West Bank.
Kerry "again urges both sides to refrain from unhelpful steps," a senior State Department official said in a statement.
"He is concerned about the violent incident that took place today outside the Ofer prison and calls upon both sides to exercise maximum restraint."
Kerry met Livni after holding talks on Wednesday in the British capital with Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas in the wake of the collapse last month of the peace process.
The State Department official said he and Livni both happened to be in London "and it provided an opportunity for them to catch up since the pause in the negotiations."
Kerry gave Livni the same message as he had stressed to Abbas -- that the fate of the talks lies in the hands of the Israelis and Palestinians.
"While the door remains open to peace, the parties must determine whether they are willing to take the steps necessary to resume negotiations," the US official said.
Kerry had also reiterated to Abbas on Wednesday that any Palestinian government must recognize Israel and commit to non-violence.
British Foreign Secretary William Hague later tweeted to confirm he had also met with Livni for talks on the peace process, urging that the "opportunity for peace must be seized."
But the April 29 deadline expired with the peace process in disarray, forcing Kerry and his team to declare a "pause" in the negotiations.
In more violence in the region, Israeli border police shot dead two Palestinians on Thursday during a demonstration in the West Bank marking the 66th anniversary of the Nakba, or "catastrophe" of Israel's creation in 1948 and the expulsion of 750,000 Palestinians it entailed.
The shooting triggered a warning from the Palestinians that they may "seriously consider a halt to security coordination with the Israeli side," Palestinian security spokesman Adnan al-Damiri told AFP.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meanwhile on Thursday accused the Palestinians of teaching their children that Israel "should be made to disappear."
The Israeli answer was to "continue building our country and our unified capital, Jerusalem," said the right-wing premier.
Jerusalem has been under Israeli occupation since 1967, along with the rest of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.
Kerry to meet Israeli chief peace negotiator in London
US officials confirmed that the top American diplomat had begun surprise talks with Livni, as they took advantage of both being in London at the same time for different meetings.
Their talks came after Kerry met in the British capital with Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas in the wake of the collapse last month of the peace process.
"Secretary Kerry will have an informal meeting with Israeli Justice Minister Livni this afternoon," a senior State Department official said earlier.
The Israeli minister is in London for a previously scheduled trip, and US officials have been keen to downplay any hopes of a breakthrough in the stymied peace process.
On Wednesday Kerry -- who was in London for talks on Syria -- stressed to Abbas that the fate of the talks lies in the hands of the Israelis and Palestinians.
Kerry "reiterated the need for any Palestinian government to recognize Israel, commit to non-violence, and abide by previous agreements," a US official said in a statement.
He also "urged both sides to refrain from unhelpful steps."
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday accused the Palestinians of teaching their children that Israel "should be made to disappear."
The Israeli answer was to "continue building our country and our unified capital, Jerusalem", said the rightwing premier.
In more violence in the region, Israeli border police shot dead two Palestinians on Thursday during a demonstration in the West Bank marking the 66th anniversary of the Nakba, or "catastrophe" of Israel's creation in 1948 that led to the expulsion of 750,000 Palestinians from their homes.
Fate of talks lies with Israelis, Palestinians, says Kerry
US Secretary of State John Kerry arrives at Stansted Airport outside of London on May 14, 2014
Only Palestinians and Israelis can decide whether to resume talks, US Secretary of State John Kerry warned Wednesday as he met President Mahmoud Abbas for the first time since the peace process collapsed.
The top US diplomat told Abbas during almost two hours of talks in London that the fate of the peace process lies in the hands of the deeply-divided parties.
"Secretary Kerry made clear that while the door remains open to peace, it is up to the parties to determine whether they are willing to take the steps necessary to resume negotiations," a senior State Department official said.
The two met in an upscale hotel for what US officials called "informal" talks, seeking to downplay any hopes of a breakthrough in Kerry's ill-fated bid to reach a long-elusive Middle East peace deal.
Israel suspended its participation in the talks on April 23 after Abbas announced the PLO was seeking a historic unity deal with the Hamas.
Kerry, who is in London for talks on Syria on Thursday, "reiterated the need for any Palestinian government to recognize Israel, commit to non-violence, and abide by previous agreements," the US official said in a statement.
Top US officials have already warned that any Palestinian government which includes members of Hamas would risk a freeze in hundreds of millions of dollars of US funding to the Palestinian Authority.
Under US law the government is banned from supporting groups branded as foreign terrorist organizations.
Abbas updated Kerry on his reconciliation efforts, after also meeting earlier in the day with British Prime Minister David Cameron.
"President Abbas outlined his plans for a new, technocratic Palestinian government, committed to the Quartet principles, including non-violence and the recognition of Israel," a Downing Street spokesman said.
"He also expressed his readiness to resume peace talks with Israel and his hope that this could be achieved rapidly."
Impasse likely to last
Cameron had urged Abbas to make "progress towards securing the rapid resumption of peace talks, which remain the only viable route to a lasting solution."
On Tuesday, Israeli President Shimon Peres said he hoped for a return to talks with the Palestinians.
"The negotiations with the Palestinians, led by Secretary Kerry, are currently paused but they are not finished," he told a press conference in Oslo.
"Neither side has a better alternative than peace based upon two states for two peoples. I hope that the negotiations will be re-started," he said.
But Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman told Israeli lawmakers "the impasse in negotiations with the Palestinians is expected to continue".
He accused Abbas of having "no interest to reach a deal with Israel, no matter what Israel offers him," noting past proposals of Israeli land concessions Abbas had turned down.
During the course of peace talks, Israel announced plans for thousands of settler homes and killed over 60 Palestinians. Over 1,000 were injured by Israel's military in the occupied territories.
Israel also demolished 312 Palestinian homes and detained over 3,600 Palestinians.
Abbas met Kerry for first time since peace talks collapsed
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas met late Wednesday U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry in London for the first time since peace talks with Israel collapsed last month. The talks were described as informal. Abbas also met with British Prime minister David Cameron.
Media sources reported that they discussed Israeli- Palestinian peace deal and the relations with the Palestinian people.
"The door remains open to the peace process. The secretary continues to believe that," a senior State Department official said before Kerry left Washington.
"But the purpose of the meeting is more about our ongoing relationship with the Palestinian people," he said.
It also reported that Abbas updated British prime minister with the Palestinian reconciliation.
Meanwhile, Hamas and Fatah officials concluded a three-hour meeting in Gaza on Wednesday saying that they were confident they would meet the five-week deadline to establish a unity government.
Moussa Abu Marzouk, head of the Hamas negotiating team, said the talks would be finalized next week and the unity government would be announced shortly afterwards . All candidates proposed for the Palestinian unity government will be politically "impartial," Fatah official Fayez Abu Atiyeh said . The formation of a proposed unity cabinet is nearly complete, according to Hamas spokesperson Sami Abu Zuhri.
I hope Palestinian reconciliation fails: Netanyahu
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressed on Tuesday his frustration over the Palestinian Authority reconciliation agreement with Hamas. "If Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas insists on the reconciliation agreement with Hamas, we will blame him on every rocket fired from the Gaza Strip," he threatened.
He added during a meeting with Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kashia in Tokyo, " we have seen negative changes since the Palestinian Authority signed agreement with Hamas that aims to destroy us."
"We will remain committed to push the peace process forward; peace can be achieved only through negotiations," He added.
Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, for his part, said, "Abbas is not interested in reaching an agreement with Israel."
On April 23, the Fatah-led PLO and Hamas announced a national unity deal to end seven years of political division between the largest two Palestinian parties, with a national unity government to be set in place within five weeks.
The division between Fatah and Hamas began in 2006, when Hamas won Palestinian legislative elections.
In the following year, clashes erupted between Fatah and Hamas, leaving Hamas in control of the Strip and Fatah in control of parts of the occupied West Bank.
The groups have made failed attempts at national reconciliation for years, most recently in 2012, when they signed two agreements -- one in Cairo and a subsequent one in Doha -- which have as of yet been unimplemented.
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