Report: Israel offers land swaps to annex settlement blocs

[Jefferson23]

BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- Israel has asked the United States to consider a land swap deal that would give Palestine a section of land in the Triangle area adjacent to the Green Line in exchange for keeping settlement blocs in the West Bank, Israeli media said Wednesday.

Israeli daily Maariv reported that recent talks between the US and Israel have involved suggestions to cede to a future Palestinian state areas of the Triangle -- a cluster of Palestinian towns in Israel's Central District -- in order to include West Bank settlements within the boundaries of Israel.

The discussions were not an official part of the main talks between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US Secretary of State John Kerry, the report said.

Israeli officials are reportedly exploring the logistics of the plan, including the question of what would happen to the current Triangle residents' Israeli citizenship.

in full: http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=661921

*Here comes the deal:



PLO says US to allocate $440 million to PA in 2014

http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=661913

[R. Daneel Olivaw]

1. The biggest problem is that these illegal settlments

run throughout the West Bank.



The argument against this is that there can really be no independent Palestinian state while illegal Israeli settlements speckle it like deer shot.


What would Israel say to the Palestinians having the same setup withing Israel proper? They would balk at that for good reason.

[Jefferson23]

2. That's right.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1134&pid=51704

[Scootaloo]

3. I find it fascinating how the Palestinians are non-entities in this sort of "negotiation"

The Israelis picked and choosed where htey wanted to establish their illegal colonies - and every single one of them is indeed illegal.

And now they pick and choose what territory they're willing to trade off in order to keep those colonies.

The discussion happens between Israel... and the United States.

Time and again, Israel and its lawyer - today that would be John Kerry - reach a deal together, and demand that Palestine accept it as-is. And then we stagger back and go "duh, oh gee, why do they keep refusing?"

[R. Daneel Olivaw]

4. "duh, oh gee, why do they keep refusing?"

Israel will not give up what it has illegally stolen.

[Violet_Crumble]

5. Yeah, negotiating land-swaps with the US is ignoring the people whose land it is...

Maybe they're in a time warp and think it's the halcyon days of back when Israel flat out refused to recognise the PLO or talk at all to the Palestinians. It does appear that the Palestinians are only to be mentioned when there's something negative to say about them...

[polly7]

19. Yes. nt.

[Igel]

6. Details change.

Same sort of offer as at least one other time, otherwise.

[azurnoir]

7. from the sound of your 2nd link the US is using aid to Palestine as blackmail

n 2014, most of the financial aid will be developmental projects through the US aid agency USAID. Only $70 million is expected to be paid directly to the PA’s treasury, he highlighted.

The ambassador noted that “despite the endorsement, financial aid to the PA will be affected by progress of the peace process in Palestine.”

http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=661913

but no matter what Israel does it's billions are secure

[Jefferson23]

8. Yes, that is the deal...in a nut shell. n/t

[azurnoir]

9. but yet the US is supposedly heading the so called negotiations n/t

[Jefferson23]

10. Oh they are involved alright..which is a huge part of the problem.

They are acting true to form imo, unfortunately, azurnoir.

[Jefferson23]

11. Israel to Delay Settlement Announcement, Official Says

By ISABEL KERSHNER

JERUSALEM — The Israeli government will delay an expected announcement of bids for new settlement construction for the next few days while Secretary of State John Kerry is in the region, an Israeli official said Wednesday, avoiding a potential high-profile clash over the contentious issue.

Mr. Kerry is scheduled to arrive here on Thursday and to stay at least until Sunday on what will be his 10th visit to the Middle East as secretary of state in a push to advance difficult Israeli-Palestinian talks.

“We will respect John Kerry and not act to spite him,” the Israeli official said, adding that there was an understanding between the office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the Housing Ministry that no bids would be published until Mr. Kerry had gone.

When it comes to settlement building, “a day here or there makes no difference,” the official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity because of the delicate diplomacy around the issue.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/02/world/middleeast/israel-to-delay-settlement-announcement-during-kerry-visit-official-says.html?hpw&rref=world&_r=0

[Jefferson23]

12. Israel's hard choices? Analysis: Israel, Palestinians Face Hard Choices

As U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry returns to the region Thursday, the American message to the Israeli and Palestinian leaders is clear: It's time to start making hard decisions.

Kerry is bringing his own ideas for the outlines of a peace deal, and early indications are that the plan will include hard-to-swallow choices for both sides.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would likely have to recognize Israel's pre-1967 war frontier as the starting point for border talks with the Palestinians, an ideological reversal that would put him on a collision course with his hardline base.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas fears he'll be pressured to recognize Israel as the homeland of the Jewish people, a step he believes would abrogate the rights of Palestinian refugees and their descendants.

A senior State Department official said Kerry would not impose ideas or seek final answers on this trip. Instead, he is allowing time for debate during the visit, which includes meetings with Netanyahu on Thursday and Abbas on Friday.

However, the official suggested that the leaders will eventually have to decide whether they are on board and that qualified acceptance watered down by reservations is not sufficient.

Israeli-Palestinian negotiations resumed last summer, and just four months remain until a U.S.-set target date for a final agreement.

http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/analysis-israel-palestinians-face-hard-choices-21390886

[R. Daneel Olivaw]

13. The USA could male a really simple choice. Stop funding apartheid.

Sure it would be hard.


But no, it really wouldn't be.

[Jefferson23]

14. If you can't be an honest broker you can at least stay the hell out of the way. n/t

[R. Daneel Olivaw]

15. America to this day has attachment issues with it's strongmen.

Not at home, but every place they fund to keep their sphere of influence going.

Cuba, Latin America, Iran, Iraq, Asia, South America...the list goes on. Israel fits into this sad category.


"But he's our son of a bitch" comes to mind.


So fucking sad that we are still playing this game when it has given us so much blowback.

[Jefferson23]

16. Kerry's billions: US economic plans for occupied Palestine

Since May 2013, there has been intense debate about US Secretary of State John Kerry's economic plan for the occupied Palestinian territories.

The plan -- known as the Palestine Economic Initiative (PEI) -- aims to develop the economy of the West Bank and Gaza over the next three years, as a prerequisite for a political settlement to end the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

However, very few of those welcoming or criticizing the plan know anything concrete about it. Hence I call it the "invisible plan."

On a trip to the West Bank in December 2013, I met Palestinian and international officials and diplomats who are involved directly or indirectly in the PEI. Their message was that there will not be, as many expect, a third intifada, but something very different: an "investment intifada."

The PEI is invisible not only because it was prepared by a team of "international experts," but also because the Palestinian people, whose economic development is at stake, are the last to know about it. This is not new.

http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=669899

[Jefferson23]

17. Kerry pressing for framework before next prisoner release

U.S. secretary of state thought to view end of March as deadline for success of negotiations.

By Barak Ravid and JTA | Feb. 2, 2014 |



U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry is pressuring Israel and the Palestinians to reach a framework agreement acceptable to both sides before Israel’s release of the fourth, and final, group of Palestinian prisoners, scheduled for the end of March.

Kerry is thought to believe that if his efforts do not bear fruit by then the negotiations will break down, either due to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s refusal to release prisoners who are Israeli citizens or due to an anticipated surge of construction in the settlements in response to the prisoner release. This could cause the Palestinians to abandon the talks and renew their unilateral actions in the United Nations, a senior Israeli official has said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Kerry’s unofficial deadline may be in eight weeks, but he and his team are making great efforts to finalize an agreement ahead of the target date. That agreement would presumably extend the negotiations, which were supposed to be completed by April 29, to the end of the year. The Americans want to square away the framework as soon as possible in order to leave as much time as possible for negotiating the core issues.

Kerry will not return to Jerusalem or Ramallah this week, but he is continuing his intense contacts with both sides. He is scheduled to meet this morning in Munich with Israel’s chief negotiator, Justice Minister Tzipi Livni, and with Isaac Molho, Netanyahu’s representative to the talks. They are expected to work on the wording of the framework agreement. Kerry will then meet with Livni’s Palestinian counterpart, Saeb Erekat, toward the same purpose.

Kerry speaks with Netanyahu and with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on a near-daily basis.

http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/.premium-1.571892#

[Jefferson23]

18. further:

Kerry came to Munich after meeting German Chancellor Angel Merkel and Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier in Berlin on Friday. Steinmeier was in Jerusalem and Ramallah two weeks ago, and Merkel is scheduled to visit the region later this month.

Kerry presumably asked for German help in pressuring both sides to accept the framework agreement he is expected to present soon.

Representatives of the Quartet met on Monday. Kerry briefed Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and European Union foreign minister Catherine Ashton on the status of the framework agreement and asked participants to persuade Israel and the Palestinians to show more flexibility over its terms

Speaking at a panel at the Munich Security Conference on Saturday, Kerry said: “You see for Israel there’s an increasing delegitimization campaign that has been building up. People are very sensitive to it. There are talk of boycotts and other kinds of things. Are we all going to be better with all of that?"

He said the prosperity and security Israel was now experiencing was temporary: "[T]oday’s status quo absolutely, to a certainty, I promise you 100 percent, cannot be maintained. It’s not sustainable. It’s illusionary. There’s a momentary prosperity, there’s a momentary peace. Last year, not one Israeli was killed by a Palestinian from the West Bank. This year, unfortunately, there’s been an uptick in some violence. But the fact is the status quo will change if there is failure. So everybody has a stake in trying to find the pathway to success.”

The State Department denies Indyk’s claims

The description of a possible U.S.-drafted framework for Israeli-Palestinian peace that Martin Indyk, the top U.S. Middle East envoy, delivered to a group of Jewish leaders was not final, the State Department said.

“During an off the record briefing with Jewish leaders, Ambassador Indyk reiterated the well-known United States position in support of 1967 borders plus swaps as a part of a broad discussion on ideas being discussed for a framework,” Jen Psaki, the State Department spokeswoman, said in a statement Friday, a day after the call.

“But given this is an ongoing process and these decisions have not yet been made, at no point did Ambassador Indyk make a prediction of the final contents of a framework,” Psaki said.

Indyk described detailed security arrangements on the Jordan-West Bank border, a settlement of the refugee question, the terms for mutual recognition of Israel as the nation state of the Jews and Palestine as the nation state of the Palestinians, and land swaps.

State Department officials said there is not an expectation that the framework would be completed in “weeks,” although Indyk had said it was his hope that it would.

Regarding Indyk’s reference during the call to the expectation that land swaps would allow 75-80 percent of settlers to stay in Israel, the officials said that arose not from the current talks but from previous estimates during the 20-year-long peace process.

http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/.premium-1.571892#