MIDEAST UPDATE: 4.1.17 - Netanyahu Set to Approve First West Bank Settlements in 20 Years -

Netanyahu Set to Approve First West Bank Settlements in 20 Years - Maayan Lubell - http://www.charismanews.com/world/63963-netanyahu-set-to-approve-first-west-bank-settlements-in-20-years

 

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he expected to sign off on Thursday on building the first new settlement in the occupied West Bank for two decades, even as he negotiates with Washington on a possible curb on settlement activity.

 

Netanyahu was due to convene his security cabinet later in the day to approve the new enclave, government officials said.

 

"I made a promise that we would establish a new settlement," Netanyahu told reporters. "We will keep it today. There are a few hours until then, and you will get all the details."

 

He made the pledge in the run-up to the eviction in February of 40 families from the West Bank settlement of Amona. Israel's Supreme Court said the dwellings had to be razed because they were built illegally on privately owned Palestinian land.

 

Israel and the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump are in discussions on limiting the construction of settlements, which are built on land Palestinians seek for a state.

 

Such settlements, in territory that Israel captured in the 1967 Middle East war, are deemed illegal by most of the world. Israel cites biblical, historical and political links to the land, as well as security interests, to defend its actions.

 

Establishing a new settlement could be a way for Netanyahu to appease far-right members of his coalition government, who are likely to object to any concessions to U.S. demands for restraints on building.

 

Trump, who had been widely seen in Israel as sympathetic towards settlements, appeared to surprise Netanyahu during a White House visit last month when he urged him to "hold back on settlements for a little bit."

 

The two then agreed that their aides would try to work out a compromise on how much Israel can build and where.

 

Trump's Middle East envoy, Jason Greenblatt, this week wrapped up a second trip to the region aimed at reviving Middle East peace talks that collapsed in 2014.

 

A new settlement would be the first built in the West Bank since 1999. About 400,000 Israeli settlers live in the West Bank which is also home to 2.8 million Palestinians. Another 200,000 Israelis live in East Jerusalem.

 

Palestinians want the West Bank and East Jerusalem for their own state, along with the Gaza Strip.

 

Israeli borders not cited at Arab Summit - http://www.debka.com/article/25985/Israeli-borders-not-cited-at-Arab-Summit-

 

All 15 resolutions passed by the Arab summit which took place in Jordan Wednesday, March 29, were devoted to an indictment of Iran, its Revolutionary Guards Corps and Lebanese surrogate, Hezbollah. They were a testament to the depth of Arab-Iranian animosity and exposed the extent of the rift between the Sunni and Shiite Muslim worlds.

 

Iran was accused of meddling in the internal affairs of Arab nations, inciting Shiites against Sunnis, and arming and training Shiite terrorist groups for operations against legitimate Arab governments. The Arab rulers combined to put Tehran in the dock for its interference in the Syrian civil war and assault on its sovereignty.

 

None of the formal resolutions addressed the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. In a separate statement issued later, the Arab rulers reaffirmed their commitment to a two-state solution of the Arab-Israeli conflict. They called for a new round of peace talks based on a two-state formula and renewed the 2002 "reconciliation" offer (drawn up by Saudi Arabia) if "Israel quit occupied Arab land and agreed to a deal on Palestinian refugees."

 

debkafile: This was the first Arab summit to refrain from defining Israel's future borders under a peace deal. This leaves the door open for leeway in the negotiations to take place as part of the new US-Saudi-Egyptian peace initiative we reported earlier now the subject of active exchanges between the US, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Israel and the Palestinian Authority. King Abdullah of Jordan, who hosted the summit and Egyptian President Abdel-Fatteh El-Sisi will travel to Washington to report to President Donald Trump on the private discussions on this issue at the session and launch the next stage of the Arab-Israeli peace initiative.

 

debkafile lists the 15 resolutions submitted to the Arab summit.

 

1: Good neighborly relations should prevail between Iran and Arab countries and Iran's meddling in the affairs of Arab countries condemned as a threat to the security and stability of the region.

 

2: The Islamic Republic of Iran should assume responsibility for an attack on Saudi Arabia's embassy in Tehran and its consulate in Mashhad and abide by the laws of diplomacy.

 

3: The Iranian government must tell its officials to desist from hostile, inflammatory remarks against Arab countries.

 

4: Iran must stop fomenting sectarian rivalries and withdraw support from groups who destabilize the Gulf countries and armed groups inside Arab countries.

 

 5: Iran's invasion of three Emirate islands (Abu Musa and the Greater and Lesser Tunbs) is condemned. They must be restored to lawful ownership by peaceful means.

 

6: Iran must stop supporting and training terrorists and sending arms and ammunition to rebel groups fighting the Bahrain government. 

 

7: Bahraini security agencies win praise for foiling a terrorist plot in December 2016 supported by the Iranian Revolutionary Guards and terrorist Hezbollah.

 

8: Iran's nefarious meddling in the Syrian crisis has threatened its sovereignty, future stability, security and unity. 

 

9: Iranian meddling in Yemen's affairs by backing forces fighting the legitimate government negatively affects the security of the country, its neighbors and the wider region.

 

10: The importance of the initiative taken by the Assistance Council of the Arab Gulf Countries is underlined and calls for a positive response from Iran

 

11: Iran must be bound to compliance with Security Council Resolution 2231 of 2015 and penalized swiftly with effective sanctions for any violations. Iran must be held to its commitments under the nuclear and regional environment treaties.

 

12: The Secretary General is entrusted with managing the commission of four Arab foreign ministers set up to thwart Iranian interference in Arab affairs.

 

13:  Arabic assistance forums with countries, regional, and international groups will highlight the ill effects of Iranian meddling in their affairs.

 

14: This issue will be placed on the UN agenda under Section 2 of Article 7

 

15: The Arab League Secretary General will monitor the implementation of these resolutions and report on progress to the next Arab summit.

 

  Hamas develops new 'high-powered' rocket akin to Hezbollah projectiles - http://www.jpost.com/Arab-Israeli-Conflict/Report-Hamas-develops-new-highly-powerful-short-range-rocket-485405

 

While Hezbollah has similar rockets, this is the first time that Hamas has developed such a weapon, Army Radio reports.

 

Hamas has recently developed a new high-powered rocket of which it has already produced several dozen, Army Radio reported on Tuesday.

 

According to the report, the rocket is short-range and can carry a relatively heavy explosive load. In the event of a future conflict between Israel and Hamas, the new rocket would have the most effect on the Israeli communities bordering the Gaza Strip.

 

The report described the rocket as "completely different than any weaponry we know from the direction of the Strip - as concerns the weight of the explosive carried in the head of the rocket."

 

While Hezbollah has similar rockets, this is the first time that Hamas has developed such a weapon, the report added.

 

Weapons smuggling into the Hamas-run enclave from the Sinai Peninsula has decreased due to the group's efforts to improve ties with Egypt, leading Hamas to invest in producing their own locally-made rockets. Hamas has boasted of its growing arsenal, testing its stockpile on an almost regular basis since the conclusion of 2014's Operation Protective Edge.

 

During the war, a total of 4,594 rockets were fired from the Strip toward Israel and near the end of the conflict, Hamas focused on short-range mortar fire, with deadly results, killing both soldiers and civilians who had little or no warning of incoming projectiles.

 

While smuggling through the Egyptian border has gone down, Israeli authorities continue to intercept illicit goods heading for Hamas on a regular basis at crossings from Israel into the Strip. 

 

Last year, the Defense Ministry's Crossings Authority and Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) discovered a shipment of hundreds of metal pipes with a diameter of four inches, special screw holes  used to manufacture mortars and rockets, and dozens of electric engines for tunnel digging at the Tarkumiya checkpoint near Hebron.

 

The IDF has warned that the terror group has restored its military capabilities to its pre-2014 strength, expecting that in the next war the southern communities bordering the Stip would be incessantly pounded with rockets and mortar attacks.

 

In the event of a future war in the area, the IDF's Home Front Command has a contingency plan to evacuate residents who live in those border communities,  in response to the report, Ashkelon Coast Regional Council head Yair Farjoun told Army Radio

 

"We are prepared for every scenario and if we need to evacuate, we will evacuate. Civilians do not need to be on the front lines."

 

While during Operation Protective Edge Israel relied on the Iron Dome system to intercept rockets, the addition of the David's Sling missile defense system will see Israel have a comprehensive protective umbrella able to counter threats posed by both short and mid-range missiles used by terror groups in Gaza.

 

Tuesday's report came as tensions have been high on the Gaza border in recent days after Hamas accused Israel of being behind the assassination of one of its senior operatives, Mazen Fuqaha, in Gaza on Friday.

 

Addressing the assassination in a speech in Qatar on Monday, Hamas political bureau chief Khaled Mashaal warned that following Fuqaha's assassination the group was in "an open war against the criminal enemy."

 

"By killing Faqha, the enemy told us: 'I've scored a point against you and I can take away one of your heroes even in the heart of Gaza," Mashaal said via video link, adding that "it's a new blood debt that adds itself to all those before."

 

Mashaal warned that "the conflict with the occupier is still ongoing and we, the leaders of the organization, accept the challenge. If the enemy changes the equation, we accept it and bear the responsibility to protect our sons and daughters. We adhere to the struggle to free our prisoners, to liberate Jerusalem and Al-Aqsa. Our willpower is stronger than their weapons, and in the end, we will triumph."