Abbas to demand Israeli withdrawal from West Bank in 3 years
(JNS.org) Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas is set to unveil a plan for a return to negotiations with Israel over a nine-month period. Abbas’s plan will propose an Israeli withdrawal from the West Bank in three years, reports say.
The plan was revealed by former PA religious affairs minister and close Abbas advisor Mahmoud al-Habbash, who said Abbas plans to reveal the plan at an Arab League meeting on Sept. 7. Senior PA advisors have already discussed the plan with European leaders and will do the same with American officials.
According al-Habbash, the two sides will have nine months to negotiate, with the first three months dedicated to discussion of borders and the other six months dedicated to discussing core issues such as final status of refugees, Jerusalem, Jewish communities, security arrangements, and water.
“The goal of the Palestinians is to begin discussions that will eventually lead to the end of the occupation and the establishment of an independent Palestinian state along the 1967 lines with east Jerusalem as its capital,” al-Habbash told the Jordanian newspaper Al-Ghad.
If Israel does not agree to the timetable, al-Habbash said Abbas will turn to unilateral moves such as joining international bodies and seeking action against Israel in the International Criminal Court.
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Syrian jihadists make demands for release of Fijian peacekeepers
(JNS.org) The al-Qaeda-affiliated jihadist group al-Nusra Front has issued a series of demands that it said must be met to secure the release of 45 Fijian peacekeepers it took hostage during a takeover of the Israel-Syria border crossing in the Golan Heights.
Fijian military commander Brig. Gen. Mosese Tikoitoga said the al-Nusra Front’s demands include removal of the group from the U.N. terrorist list, humanitarian aid delivery to parts of Damascus, and payment for three jihadists killed during a shootout with the U.N. peacekeepers, the Associated Press reported.
It is unclear if the U.N. will seek to meet the demands of the jihadist group. The U.N. has sent hostage negotiators to Syria.
“I appeal to all Fijians that while we pray for our soldiers in Syria that we be sensitive to the families,”Tikoitoga said.
Approximately 1,200 U.N. peacekeepers serve in the Golan Heights as part of the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force. Peacekeepers from the Philippines were also caught in the jihadist assault last week, but managed to escape after defending themselves for several hours.
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New Turkish PM: no normalization with Israel if Gaza blockade remains
(JNS.org) New Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said Monday that there is no hope of his country “normalizing”ties with Israel unless the Jewish state ends the blockade of the Gaza Strip, Reuters reported.
In August, former Turkish prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan was elected as the country’s president. Erdogan was a harsh critic of Operation Protective Edge in Gaza this summer, saying that Israel “surpassed Hitler in barbarism”and committed “genocide”against the Palestinians.
Davutoglu made his comments during an address to Turkish parliamentary deputies. Israel-Turkey relations have been frayed since the May 2010 flotilla that tried to break the Gaza blockade. Militants attacked Israeli soldiers who boarded the vessel, prompting clashes in which nine Turkish citizens were killed.
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Israeli police recommend indicting former IDF chief Ashkenazi
(JNS.org) The Israeli police on Tuesday recommended that former IDF chief of staff Gabi Ashkenazi be indicted for breach of trust and divulging classified information in connection to a case dating back to 2010.
The case, known as the “Harpaz affair,”involves an alleged plot by Lt. Col. (res.) Boaz Harpaz to sabotage the appointment of Yoav Galant to succeed Ashkenazi as the IDF chief of staff.
A document reported by Israel’s Channel 2 network that had brought the Harpaz affair to light was ultimately dismissed as a forgery, leading to a state comptroller probe and a four-year police investigation into the matter. Investigators said Ashkenazi failed to disclose his knowledge of the Harpaz document during the state comptroller’s investigation and routinely gave reporters classified information during off-the-record background briefings.
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Israeli children return to school after conflict
(JNS.org) Southern Israeli children living near Gaza went back to school Monday after a summer spent in bomb shelters during Operation Protective Edge.
“We are a little scared but we are excited,” Ronit Bart, a resident of Kibbutz Saad and an English teacher in its school, told the Associated Press. “A lot of children in our area really need to go back to a routine.”
The school year also began across the country in Israel. About 2.1 million students in total returned to school, as well as 165,000 teachers and instructors. About 5,000 policemen volunteered to secure schools around the country Monday.
“On behalf of all the government ministers, I want to wish the best of luck to all the children—but firstly the children entering the first grade—hi there, first graders—may you, may all the children have a good, successful and safe school year,” said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
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Lady Gaga concert in Tel Aviv on track despite summer war
(JNS.org) Lady Gaga will perform in Israel on Sept. 13 despite this summer’s war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza. Neil Young, the Backstreet Boys, and Lana Del Rey all canceled their planned concerts in Israel this summer.
The singer will perform as part of her international tour “artRave: The ARTPOP Ball” at Tel Aviv’s Hayarkon Park.
Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions activists have been calling for entertainers to cancel performances in Israel, but Lady Gaga is not the only international artist with an upcoming concert in the Jewish state. Tony Bennett will perform in Tel Aviv the day after Lady Gaga.
The two concerts will take place about 10 days before the release of “Cheek to Cheek,” a joint jazz album Lady Gaga recorded with Bennett. This has sparked rumors that the two musicians might perform together at one of the concerts.
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British Jews protest anti-Semitism in front of justice court
(JNS.org) British-Jewish groups protested Sunday in London against the growth of anti-Semitism in the United Kingdom.
Standing outside London’s Royal Courts of Justice, the protestors called for “zero tolerance for anti-Semites,” reported AFP.
Sparked by this summer’s conflict in Gaza, 240 anti-Semitic incidents were recorded in July alone by the British anti-Semitism watchdog Community Security Trust, compared to 304 anti-Semitic incidents in the entire first six months of 2014.
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