The Israeli Settlement Movement Is Failing
Forward-Feb 26, 2018
While Katz is correct that the annual population growth of settlers in the occupied territory is in fact greater than in Israel proper, he neglects to mention that the trajectory of that growth over the past 20 years shows steady decline. In 1996, the annual growth was 10.3 percent; by 2016, it was down to 3.4 ...
Current Israeli birth rates unsustainable, says expert
The Jerusalem Post-Feb 20, 2018
The issue took center stage Tuesday at a joint conference of the University of Maryland, Tel Aviv University and Zafuf: The Israel Forum for Population, ... According to Tal, Israel is the second-most densely populated country in the developed world and has the highest per capita rate of population growth.
Russia and Ukraine provided Israel with majority of immigrants in 2017
The Times of Israel-Feb 26, 2018
Russia emerged as Israel's largest provider of immigrants under its law of return for Jews and their relatives with 7,224 newcomers, followed by 7,182 immigrants from the Ukraine, according to an updated report of immigration to Israel, or aliyah, by a partnering organization of the Ministry for Immigrant
Friedman’s warning of risk of ‘civil war’ in Israel raises a storm
The US ambassador to Tel Aviv said a large-scale evacuation of Jewish settlers could spark civil war in Israel.
February 25, 2018
Dire prophecy. US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman visits the Western Wall in the old city of Jerusalem, last May. (AFP)
LONDON - A row over the fate of Israeli settlements erupted in Israel following remarks by the US ambassador to Tel Aviv that a large-scale evacuation of Jewish settlers could spark civil war.
“These are people who are committed to this land as a God-given land. I believe that significant eviction could lead to civil war,” US Ambassador David Friedman told a delegation of Jewish-American leaders visiting Jerusalem.
Friedman said the prospect of intra-Israeli clashes was particularly worrying given the increase in the number of national-religious officers in the Israel Defence Forces (IDF).
“The command of the IDF is increasingly being held by religious Zionists,” he said.
Friedman stressed that Israel must retain control of the Jordan Valley for security reasons.
“The settlers are going nowhere,” said the US ambassador, who is a staunch supporter of Israeli settlements.
Friedman’s supposedly private remarks were reported in Hebrew by Israel’s Channel 10. The US Embassy in Israel said the comments were taken out of context.
“The Channel 10 report is based on three attendees at the conference who failed to provide much of the context behind Ambassador Friedman’s comments as well as significant additional and related remarks by the ambassador,” an embassy official told the Jerusalem Post.
“Ambassador Friedman made clear in his remarks that the president is committed to a comprehensive peace agreement that benefits both Israelis and Palestinians and that the United States is working on a plan to achieve that goal. As for settlements, the ambassador believes that unrestrained settlement growth is not helpful for peace.”
Still, the comments drew severe criticism.
“Friedman was suggesting that the situation in Israel is so febrile and its society so fragile that, should a legitimately elected government carry out a large-scale eviction of settlers, as has been done twice before, it could bring about civil war,” wrote Anshel Pfeffer in Haaretz.
“His apparent ignorance of Israeli society, of the parameters of previous American peace plans and of the facts on the ground — all these pale beside his total lack of comprehension of the Israel Defence Forces. The IDF has never mutinied, never been close to it.”
Pfeffer also took aim at the Trump administration, whose policies are seen by Israeli supporters of the two-state solution as hindering the Middle East peace process.
“It’s hard to believe that [Friedman] is so ignorant as to be unaware of the parameters accepted by every American administration for the last quarter of a century, up until the Trump administration, that is. But then nothing is unbelievable when it comes to Trump’s crew,” wrote Pfeffer.
The controversy over Friedman’s remarks coincided with a report by a pro-settlement group suggesting that the number of settlers in the West Bank grew at nearly twice the rate of Israel’s overall population in 2017.
Prominent settler leader Yaakov Katz credited the Trump administration with the rise in numbers.
“We have to thank God he sent Trump to be president of the United States,” Katz told the Associated Press. “We are very, very, very happy with the Trump administration.”
Citing figures from Israel’s Interior Ministry that have not been made public, Katz said the West Bank settler population reached 435,159 at the start of 2018. He said he expected it to approach 500,000 by the end of Trump’s term in 2021.
“We are changing the map,” Katz said. “The idea of the two-state solution is over. It is irreversible.”
All Israeli settlements are illegal under international law because they are built on occupied territories. They are frowned upon by the international community because they have been among the main obstacles to Palestinian-Israeli peace talks.
The UN Human Rights Council said it identified 206 companies doing business linked to Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank. It urged businesses to avoid doing work in Israeli settlements.
“In doing so, they are contributing to Israel’s confiscation of land, facilitate the transfer of its population into the Occupied Palestinian Territory and are involved in the exploitation of Palestine’s natural resources,” a recent UN report said.
The Israeli anti-settlement monitoring group Peace Now reported a significant rise in settlement unit building late last year.
“The past few months have seen unprecedented developments in the settlements, causing severe damage to the chances of a two-state solution,” read a statement by the group in November.
“Accelerated population growth, approvals of housing units in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, promotion of bypass roads, advancements of Knesset bills, home demolitions and changes in legal interpretations — all lead to a situation of de facto annexation of [West Bank] area C.
“The implications of the abovementioned developments are far-reaching for Israel, the Palestinians and the region as a whole.”
'Jerusalem will soon be 50% Arab'
Arutz Sheva-Feb 5, 2018
Given the demographic change in the capital, Israeli political leaders have presented a series of proposals aimed at preserving Jerusalem's Jewish majority. Last year, Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat reportedly pushed for the demolition of six illegal high-rise apartment buildings in Kafr Aqab. The demolition, to ...
An Undivided Capital? Jerusalem's Jewish Character Is at Stake as ...
Jewish Link of New Jersey-Feb 8, 2018
(Makor Rishon/Exclusive to JNS) For several months now, Israel's National Security Council has been examining multiple plans that would change the municipal boundaries of Jerusalem. Each proposal tries to deal with the demographic red line toward which the city is racing at full speed: a population ...
Commentary: To make peace in the Middle East, focus first on water
The Jerusalem Post-Feb 2, 2018
For Palestinian communities that suffer water shortages and require Israeli approval to increase pumping of shared natural water resources, ... now, with Syrian refugees flooding into neighboring Jordan, economic opportunities for both the refugees and the local population are paramount if we are to avoid ...
To make peace in the Middle East, focus first on water
Japan Today-Feb 9, 2018
For Palestinian communities that suffer water shortages and require Israeli approval to increase pumping of shared natural water resources, ... now, with Syrian refugees flooding into neighboring Jordan, economic opportunities for both the refugees and the local population are paramount if we are to avoid ...
Severe water shortages around the world: Why the taps run dry
The Straits Times-Feb 13, 2018
Twenty-nine of them, including Algeria, Israel or Qatar, were in a situation of extreme shortage with less than 500 m3 per person a year. ... The global use of freshwater doubled between 1964 and 2014 because of population growth, urbanisation, industrialisation and increased production and consumption, ...
To make peace in the Middle East, focus first on water, palestine-israel
Egypt Independent-Feb 5, 2018
For Palestinian communities that suffer water shortages and require Israeli approval to increase pumping of shared natural water resources, ... now, with Syrian refugees flooding into neighboring Jordan, economic opportunities for both the refugees and the local population are paramount if we are to avoid ...
As Gaza deteriorates, Israel turns to world for help
ABC News-Feb 14, 2018
"Israel now realizes the growing humanitarian crisis in Gaza and its impact on the population," said the World Bank, which has helped oversee international reconstruction efforts. "Donors ... Unemployment is over 40 percent, tap water is undrinkable and Gazans receive only a few hours of electricity a day.
The world's taps are rapidly running dry
Mail & Guardian-Feb 22, 2018
The world has abundant fresh water but it is unevenly distributed and under increasing pressure, United Nations agencies say, as highlighted by the drought in Cape Town. On Tuesday South Africa declared the drought that has hit parts of the country and threatened to leave the Mother City without ..
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