Obama urged not to veto anti-Israeli draft

A general view of the Israeli settlement of Nof Zion, near al-Quds January 12, 2011

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/161479.html


Former high-ranking US officials have called on President Barack Obama to avoid vetoing a UN Security Council resolution condemning Israel's illegal settlements in the West Bank.

The officials, including a former US secretary of defense, a number of former assistant secretaries of state and ambassadors, wrote a letter to Obama, asking him to instruct US envoys to the world body to "vote yes" on the resolution, Ha'aretz reported on Saturday.

"The time has come for a clear signal from the United States to the parties and to the broader international community that the United States can and will approach the conflict with the objectivity, consistency and respect for international law required if it is to play a constructive role in the conflict's resolution," the letter urged.

The signatories said they were well aware that the Security Council resolution would not resolve the issue of settlements, but said the council was "an appropriate venue for addressing these issues."

They also reminded Obama of his 2009 speech in Cairo where he said the US does not accept the legitimacy of continued Israeli settlements and urged Israel to stop its construction activity.

"If the proposed resolution is consistent with existing and established US policies, then deploying a veto would severely undermine US credibility and interests, placing us firmly outside of the international consensus, and further diminishing our ability to mediate this conflict," the officials warned.

The draft resolution -- which has nearly 120 co-sponsors from among Arab and other non-aligned nations -- is not likely to be put to a vote in the 15-nation council in the near future due to a possible US veto.

The draft says that "Israeli settlements established in the Palestinian territory occupied since 1967, including East [al-Quds] Jerusalem, are illegal and constitute a major obstacle to the achievement of a just, lasting, and comprehensive peace."

Israel's persistent construction in the occupied West Bank is seen as the main bone of contention between Israel and the Palestinian Authority and is blamed for derailing several rounds of talks between the two sides.

100 states back anti-Israeli resolution

Chief Palestinian Authority negotiator Saeb Erekat

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/161208.html


Chief Palestinian Authority (PA) negotiator Saeb Erekat says more than 100 countries will support a resolution at the UN Security Council against Israeli settlement projects.

Speaking to Ma'an news agency on Thursday, Erekat also rejected the reports that the PA would postpone the resolution.

On Tuesday, Palestinian resolution against illegal Israeli settlement buildings in the occupied Palestinian territories was formally put to the Security Council.

The resolution would condemn Israel's settlement activities and reiterate an existing UN demand for all building work in the occupied territories to stop.

Erekat also denied reports that he will hold meeting with Israeli officials about the issue, describing the reports as Tel Aviv's media “propaganda” to placate the Israeli public.

Elsewhere in his remarks, Erekat accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of closing the door to negotiation by going ahead with backing settlement constructions.

Direct talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority once again reached a deadlock in September after Tel Aviv refused to extend a partial moratorium on settlement constructions in the occupied West Bank.

Palestinians argue that the continuation of settlement activities reduces the chance of establishing an independent Palestinian state.

UN resolution condemns Israeli settlements

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/161018.html


The draft resolution, sponsored by more than 120 countries, was put to the Security Council in order to place the issue of settlements before the UN group's jurisdiction. However, the draft resolution was not brought to a vote. Iran's ambassador to the U.N. says the draft provides a good way to measure the resolve of the Council -- especially the

Permanent 5.

More than 120 nations signed on in support of this draft resolution. Notably absent from that list -- however -- are Western countries such as the United States -- the United Kingdom -- France -- Germany and Canada. Diplomats from those countries -- however - condemned Israeli settlement building in their statements before the Security Council today.

U.S. Ambassador Rosemary DeCarlo called Israeli settlement construction "corrosive" to the peace-making process. She did -- however -- continue to voice her support for a two - state solution. The Lebanese ambassador says it shouldn't be that hard for the U.S. to agree to the statement -- since there's nothing in it that America hasn't agreed to before.

Security council members that have already signed on to the statement also include Brazil -- India and South Africa. The Brazilian ambassador says that the two state solution that the US is pushing might be impossible to implement -- considering the rate at which Israeli construction is progressing. The Palestinian Permanent Observer representative says he'd like to see a real resolution written up and voted on immediately -- but he's willing to work with Security Council members on the issue.

Many insiders say the real statement may be voted on later this month -- while others say the vote could be further away.

But some ambassadors tell Press TV that there are still adjustments to be made in the language of the statement before it can be voted on.

Norway boycotts 'unethical' Israel firms

Norwegian Finance Minister Sigbjoern Johnsen


Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/139870.html


The Norway Oil Fund has divested from Africa-Israel Investments and its subsidiary, Danya Cebus Ltd., for the construction of settlements in the West Bank.


“The Council on Ethics emphasizes that the construction of settlements in occupied areas is a violation of the Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War," Norway's Finance Minister Sigbjoern Johnsen said in the statement on Monday.

"Several United Nations Security Council resolutions and an International Court of Justice advisory opinion have concluded that the construction of Israeli settlements in occupied Palestinian territory is prohibited under this Convention,” Ha'aretz's website quoted Johnsen as saying.

The Norwegian state-run pension fund has assets worth USD 450 billion, and held USD 1.16 million Africa-Israel shares.

The Norwegian Oil Fund, managed by the country's Central Bank, does not invest in companies that manufacture nuclear weapons or weapons of mass destruction, and divests from those that harm the environment and violate workers' rights.

Israeli academics protest WB evictions

Source: PressTV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=127929§ionid=351020202



Hundreds of Israeli university students and professors have staged a demonstration in East al-Quds (Jerusalem) to protest eviction orders against the Palestinians in the city.

Some 800 students and at least a dozen professors from Hebrew University staged a march on Wednesday afternoon to Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood, where settlers backed by Israeli authorities are forcing out Palestinian families, The Jerusalem Post reported on its website.

The Wednesday's march was the first "academic protest" in the neighborhood which together with the rest of the northeast al-Quds has been the scene of massive weekly Friday protests in the past months.

Polish-born Professor Ze'ev Sternhell from the university's Political Science Department described the rally as a "new step" in the protest movement in Sheikh Jarrah.

"And I think the fact that we're seeing so many people here today, also shows that we've reached a point of crisis and that dangerous things are happening here that need to stop," warned the professor.

Sternhell said the protest was prompted by "the suffering of those who were kicked out of their homes and others who fear they will be next" and "the political stupidity that allowed it to happen."

No confrontation was reported during the brief demonstration which ended when the protesters peacefully dispersed.