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Israel, Palestinians to resume economic links

Agence France-PresseJune 16, 2013 12:30
Israel and the Palestinian Authority decided to resume economic cooperation suspended by the Jewish state last year, at a meeting of their finance ministers on Sunday. The Israeli finance ministry, announcing the agreement as host of the Jerusalem talks, said newly appointed Palestinian minister Shukri Bishara met Israel's Yair Lapid, who took office in March. They discussed "the implementation of confidence-building measures", it said, and a timetable was laid down after the meeting to renew economic ties between Israel and the Palestinians.

AP Interview: New official in charge of West Bank economy says outlook bleak

The Canadian PressJune 12, 2013 14:32
RAMALLAH, Palestine - The Palestinians this week replaced one internationally respected, U.S.-trained economist with another in hopes of solving long-running problems in the West Bank, including a drop in foreign aid, a crippling budget deficit and Israeli development restrictions. But Mohammad Mustafa, who took over the economics portfolio from outgoing Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, acknowledged in an interview Wednesday that he has no radical new solutions, and at best can push harder to get a slightly better outcome.

Shine wearing off Kerry's Mideast peace bid

Agence France-PresseJune 11, 2013 22:44
Hopes the new and indefatigable Secretary of State John Kerry could charm Israel and the Palestinians back into talks are fading at the edges as months pass with no sign of a breakthrough, analysts say. True, the top US diplomat has visited the region four times since coming to office in February, and he has also been warmly received and on the whole spared the usual insidious whispering campaigns in the local media.

Israel foils five suicide attacks this year

Agence France-PresseJune 11, 2013 16:39
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday that Israel has foiled five suicide bombings and many other "terrorist" attacks since the start of the year. Shin Bet, the domestic security service, and the army had prevented the bombings and 30 attempted kidnappings of soldiers, Netanyahu told visiting Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos. "We have fought terrorism for many years... including this year when five attempted suicide attacks were thwarted along with 30 attempted kidnappings and many other terrorist attacks," he was quoted as saying in a statement.

Israel foils five suicide attacks this year

Agence France-PresseJune 11, 2013 15:39
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday that Israel has foiled five suicide bombings since the start of the year. Shin Bet, the domestic security service, and the army had prevented the attacks and 30 attempted kidnappings of soldiers, public radio quoted Netanyahu as telling visiting Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos. "We are happy to share our experience in the fight against terrorism with Colombia," the Israeli leader was quoted as telling Santos. The report did not elaborate on the origin of the attackers or their targets.

Palestinian talks terms 'insurmountable'

Agence France-PresseJune 10, 2013 18:31
Palestinian preconditions for peace talks make a return to negotiations impossible for Israel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday. "To me the setting of preconditions is an insurmountable obstacle," Netanyahu told the foreign affairs and defence committee, a parliamentary statement said. The Palestinians say they will only return to negotiations if Israel stops building on land they want for their future state and if the Jewish state agrees to negotiate on the basis of the borders that existed before the 1967 Middle East war.

Palestinian talks terms 'insurmountable'

Agence France-PresseJune 10, 2013 15:35
Palestinian preconditions for peace talks make a return to negotiations impossible for Israel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday. "To me the setting of preconditions is an insurmountable obstacle," Netanyahu told the foreign affairs and defence committee, a parliamentary statement said. The Palestinians say they will only return to negotiations if Israel stops building on land they want for their future state and if the Jewish state agrees to negotiate on the basis of the borders that existed before the 1967 Middle East war.

Kerry postpones Mideast visit

Agence France-PresseJune 10, 2013 12:30
US Secretary of State John Kerry, who had planned to return to the region this week for talks with Israelis and Palestinians, has postponed his visit, a top official said Monday. "Secretary Kerry has postponed (his) trip to attend meetings in Washington," a State Department official told AFP in an email, asking not to be identified. US officials had never officially announced that Kerry had planned to head back to Israel on what would have been his fifth trip to the region since making the resumption of peace talks a priority of his tenure in office.

Kerry postpones Mideast visit

Agence France-PresseJune 10, 2013 09:34
US Secretary of State John Kerry, who was to return to the region this week for talks with Israelis and Palestinians, has postponed his visit, Israeli media reported on Monday. According to Israel HaYom, a newspaper considered close to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Kerry had been due to arrive on Tuesday, but put off the visit "to give (Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas) more time" to decide whether to drop his insistence on a settlement freeze before returning to negotiations. Kerry was likely to reschedule his visit for the following week, it said.

Netanyahu signals readiness to consider 2002 Arab peace plan

June 5, 2013 14:57
By Jeffrey Heller JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu signaled readiness on Wednesday to consider a 2002 Arab peace plan whose terms were recently softened to include possible land swaps between Israel and the Palestinians. "We are listening to every initiative - the Arab initiative has been mentioned - and we are prepared to discuss initiatives that are proposals and not edicts," he said in a speech in parliament.
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