Israeli Occupation Blasts French Peace Initiative

June 21, 2015 (WAFA) – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attacked the French government’s initiative to promote a United Nations Security Council resolution attempting to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, reported the Israeli daily Haartez.

It said that, several hours before he is scheduled to meet French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius in Jerusalem, Netanyahu strongly lashed out at France’s call to resume peace talks, saying that the plan was a “dictate” that would hurt Israel’s security.

‘We firmly reject attempts to impose international dictates on us, for the sake of security and peace,’ the Middle East Monitor quoted Netanyahu.

On Saturday, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius urged the resumption of Middle East peace talks, while warning that continued Israeli settlement building in the occupied Palestinian Territories damaged chances of reaching a final deal.

During a visit to Cairo, Fabius said that, ‘We need Israel’s security to be totally assured, that is essential, but at the same time we need the rights of the Palestinians to be recognized because without justice there can be no peace.’

‘From this point of view, when settlement building continues, [the prospect of] a two-state solution recedes,’ he added.

The Middle East monitor said that, “Relations between France and Israel have been strained for the past year. The French government was a vocal critic of Israel’s attack on Gaza last summer and the parliament in Paris further upset Israel last December by voting to recognize Palestine.”

T.R/M.H

Headlines From Palestine: May 30, 2015

France’s Foreign Minister: “There is no peace and security without justice for the Palestinians”

France’s top diplomat, Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius, said he would travel to Israel and the Palestinian territories in June to try to revive the peace process and persuade all sides to accept a French UN Security Council resolution that would set parameters for negotiations.

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Israeli Occupation Forces Suppress Weekly West Bank March

Dozens of Palestinian and international activists suffered excessive tear gas inhalation on Friday as Israeli forces dispersed the Bilin weekly march.

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Israeli Occupation Detains Five Palestinians in West Bank

Israeli forces Saturday detained five people, including three international activists, from West Bank districts, as well as summoned a Palestinian for interrogation, said a local Palestinian activist and security sources.

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France’s Foreign Minister: “There is no peace and security without justice for the Palestinians”

France

France’s top diplomat, Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius, said he would travel to Israel and the Palestinian territories in June to try to revive the peace process and persuade all sides to accept a French UN Security Council resolution that would set parameters for negotiations. “We are for a two-state solution. We need to ensure Israel’s security, that’s obvious. But there is no peace and security without justice for the Palestinians, but let’s be frank justice hasn’t been given to the Palestinians,” Fabius said.

France recently handed a working document to Arab League countries in preparation of a Security Council resolution that would set a timeframe and the exact parameters of a new peace initiative between Israel and the Palestinians. “I will go, before the end of this month, to Egypt, the Palestinian territories and Israel to speak to their leaders. We want the negotiations to restart between the two sides and that this negotiation is put within an international framework,” Fabius said.

 

Senior aides to the French top diplomat said the visit would take place ahead of a final round of nuclear negotiations between the P5+1 – the United States, Russia, China, France, Britain and Germany – and the Islamic Republic of Iran at the end of June.

Headlines From Palestine: May 24, 2015

Israeli Occupation Forces Open Fire On Fishermen In Gaza

 Israeli forces opened fire on Palestinian fishermen and farmers in the Gaza Strip Sunday morning, with no injuries reported

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France Promises US To Delay Palestine-Israel UN Security Council Resolution

Diplomatic western sources today said that France vowed to the US administration, to delay presenting its project to the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) which aims on relaunching the Israeli-Palestinian negotiations, and Palestinian statehood recognition.

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Dozens Of Palestinians Injured By Israeli Tear Gas Near Hebron

Dozens of Palestinians Sunday suffered severe suffocation due to inhaling tear gas fired at them by Israeli forces in the town of Beit Ummar to the north of Hebron, according to a local activist.

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Israeli Occupation Arrests 3 Palestinians, Summons 2 For Interrogation

Israeli forces Sunday arrested three Palestinians between the ages of 14 and 19 from Jenin and Jerusalem, as well as summoned two youths in Bethlehem for interrogation, according to local and security sources.

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France Promises US To Delay Palestine-Israel UN Security Council Resolution

PNN/ Paris/

Diplomatic western sources today said that France vowed to the US administration, to delay presenting its project to the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) which aims on relaunching the Israeli-Palestinian negotiations, and Palestinian statehood recognition.

The French draft was presented to both Israeli and Palestinian officials, in addition to the European Union, the Arab League and the US administration for observation and remarks.

The French projects suggests a UNSC issue resolution in September to relaunch the talks between Palestinians and Israelis, and puts an 18-month plan to recognize Palestinian statehood.

The project also suggests Jerusalem as a capital for two countries, Israel and Palestine. However, if the project fails to pass, France will recognize Palestinian state.

Barghouthi previously told PNN that the French initiate content will be studied for either approval or decline, voicing that there are issues that cannot be accepted in it, including considering Jerusalem a united capital for two states, which conceals an Israeli domination on Jerusalem, in addition to keeping the Israeli military in the Jordan valleys with no time frame, and letting go of the right of return for compensation.

French UN Resolution Sets 18-Month Deadline For Palestine-Israel deal

French UN resolution sets 18-month deadline for Israeli-Palestinian deal

The resolution will only be submitted after the June 30 Iran deal deadline; if no agreement is reached, France will recognize the Palestinian state, the report says.

By Barak Ravid

A draft of the proposed French United Nations Security Council resolution on the Israel-Palestinian conflict was published by the French newspaper Le Figaro on Wednesday.

According to the newspaper, the draft resolution, which is being promoted by French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius, calls for the immediate resumption of negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians and their conclusion in a permanent agreement within 18 months.

If no agreement is reached in the allotted time, France will recognize the Palestinian state, according to Le Figaro.

The draft has been circulated by the French Foreign Ministry to the Arab League and UN Security Council members such as Britain and Spain.

Fabius set the relatively short deadline due to the ongoing deterioration of conditions in the West Bank. Another reason is the desire to complete the negotiations before the end of President Francois Hollande’s term in 2017.

The proposed French resolution will only be tabled after the June 30 deadline set for the nuclear negotiations with Iran. The intention is to bring it to a vote in the Security Council during the General Assembly session in New York in September.

It calls for the establishment of a Palestinian state “based on the June 4, 1967 lines, with mutually agreed and equal land swaps.”

It also calls for the positioning of Israel’s security requirements “at the center of the peace talks.”

According to the report, the French draft provides for the establishment a system that “guarantees the security of both Israel and the Palestinians, with effective oversight over borders, and prevents the reappearance of terror and the smuggling of munitions.”

The draft resolution also requires that security arrangements respect “the sovereignty of the demilitarized Palestinian state, including the complete, though phased, withdrawal of the Israeli army during a transitional stage, the length of which will be agreed between the parties.”

The French text includes a call for “a just solution, that is balanced and realistic regarding the Palestinian refugees,” emphasizing that it will have to be based on a mechanism to compensate the refugees.

It also establishes that Jerusalem will be the capital of both states, according to the report, In reference to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s demand that the Palestinians recognize Israel as the Jewish state, it says that the agreement will embody “the principle of two states for two nations.”

 

Talks Dissolve Between Israel And France Over UN Resolution On Palestine

BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — Meetings between Israel and France fell apart last week after an argument erupted over French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius’ revived attempt to advance a resolution on resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in the United Nations Security Council, Israeli media reported Thursday.

As the annual consultations between Israel and France on diplomatic and security issues are typically held to emphasize commonality and coordination between the two countries, the fall out was exceptional and came after mounting tensions between the two, according to Israeli news source Haaretz.

The Israeli Foreign Ministry had allegedly received information revealing that the French had been discussing a draft resolution in both Paris and New York with the Palestinians, Arab states and several members of the Security Council, Haaretz reported.”You are speaking with the whole world about your initiative, just not with us,” diplomats told Haaretz Israeli FM said, “You seem to have forgotten that we are also a party to this and that you ought to involve us, too.”The disagreements came shortly after Fabius agreed to stall putting forth the resolution until a nuclear agreement is reached with Iran.

The UN draft solution being pushed by Fabius initially failed months ago, after Palestinian leadership disagreed with resolution’s final amendments.The original resolution set a two-year timetable for concluding a peace treaty, without mentioning the withdrawal of Israeli forces.

Headlines From Palestine: May 12, 2015

Occupation forces demolished Abu Kamel Islamic shrine in Nablus village of Beit Dagan & seized its stones.

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Japan Slams Israeli War Crime Approval Of 900 East Jerusalem Squatter Homes

The Japanese government has slammed a recent decision by Israeli authorities to approve construction of a further 900 settler homes in occupied East Jerusalem.

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PLO: France Must End Orange Telecom’s Complicity In Israeli Occupation

Senior PLO official Saeb Erekat has urged the French government to end a national telecom company’s involvement with its Israeli partner over mass violations of Palestinian rights in the occupied territories.

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Israeli Occupation To Demolish Palestinian Residential Structures Near Hebron

The Israeli authorities Tuesday notified a local resident of Susia to the south of Hebron, about their intent to demolish his private-owned residential tents, according to local sources.

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More Religious Tolerance Israeli Style: Occupation Forces Demolish Mosque In Bedouin Village

Israeli forces on Tuesday demolished a mosque under construction in the Bedouin village of Wadi al-Niam near Beersheba, locals said.

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PLO: France Must End Orange Telecom’s Complicity In Israeli Occupation

BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — Senior PLO official Saeb Erekat has urged the French government to end a national telecom company’s involvement with its Israeli partner over mass violations of Palestinian rights in the occupied territories.

Last Thursday, the PLO official wrote to France’s Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius to express concern over Orange’s involvement with Israel’s military occupation, illegal settlements and the deadly war on Gaza last year.Orange, formally know as France Telecom Orange, renewed a trademark license with its Israeli partner operator in 2011, becoming Orange Israel.

“The French company has become a partner in Israel’s occupation of the State of Palestine and a complicit member in Israel’s illegal settlement activities through this agreement and the profits reaped as a result,” the letter seen by Ma’an said.

The phone company has placed antennae and communications in the occupied West Bank on annexed private Palestinian land and has built phone stores in the illegal settlements of Ariel, Beitar Illit, Modin Illit, and Mishor Adumim.

The phone company was also complicit in Israel’s military operation last summer in Gaza by sponsoring combat units which killed over 2,200 Palestinians, launching a campaign entitled ‘Adopt a soldier,’ the letter stated.Orange does not pay taxes to the PA for any of its activities on occupied Palestinian land.French Orange’s partnership with Orange Israel is contributing to Israel’s deliberate policy of creating illegal “facts on the ground” by reinforcing Israeli settlements, actions which are in direct violation of France’s duties under the Fourth Geneva Convention, Erekat said.

The PLO official urged France to insist that Orange “immediately cancel its contractual agreement and cease its involvement with ‘Orange Israel.'”The French government is a 25 percent shareholder in Orange.The letter echoes a report published in May by the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and its partner organizations Al-Haq, CCFD-Terre Solidaire, Association France Palestine Solidarit, Ligue des droits de l’Homme, Union Syndicale Solidaires and the French trades union federation Confdration Gnrale du Travail (CGT).The report urged the French company to cut ties with its Israeli partner and called on European states to end economic cooperation with illegal Israeli settlements.

Palestinian State is Vital for Middle East Stability, Says France

NEW YORK, April 23, 2015 (WAFA) – France reaffirmed its commitment to the two-state solution and support to a new political perspective leading to the creation of a Palestinian State alongside Israel.

 

In a statement by Francois Delattre, Permanent Representative of France at the United Nations,

France noted that the two-state solution is about to disappear and ongoing illegal settlement activities compromise the viability of a Palestinian State on the field.

 

Delattre said that the political vacancy increases the risk of an explosion, claiming that in Israel as well as in Palestine, public opinions are radicalizing and the number of those in favor of a two-state solution is decreasing.

 

The urgency is to break the downward spiral we are witnessing, he said.

 

“It is in no one’s interest to see an end to the security coordination or the dissolution of the Palestinian Authority in which we invested so much, and the start of a diplomatic guerilla in the international institutions. With the latent risk of an explosion of violence, we cannot act as if these risks did not exist.”

 

Delattre said that France believes “only a reinforced and renewed international accompaniment can allow the parties to firmly commit on the demanding way of peace.”

 

He said that the international community has two options: either “managing” the crisis with piecemeal solutions, while hoping that the level of violence will be contained and waiting for better days to deal with the root causes of the problem, or acting.

 

Delattre said it is France’s responsibility as a member of the Security Council to contribute to the stability of the Middle-East. “The choice of action must create, according to us, a link between two specific elements.”

 

He added, there will not be any Palestinian State and, thereby, peace in the Middle-East without a reinforced and collective commitment from the international community.

 

M.H