Demonstration against settlement construction in occupied East Jerusalem, May 2011 (Photo: Activestills)

New constructions in the settlements more than doubled in 2013

The number of new housing constructions initiations in the occupied West Bank increased by 123.7 percent last year, according to Israeli official government data released last Monday. The Palestinians, Hadash  and the Israeli peace movements have long viewed Israeli settlement construction as a major obstacle to peace talks, arguing that Israel is actively building on…

Liberman in the Knesset (Photo: channel 10)

MK Barakeh: There is only one place for Liberman’s proposal – the garbage can of history

Palestinian Authority chairman Mahmoud Abbas rejected Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman’s racist idea of swapping heavily Arab-populated lands in the pre-1967 borders for additional West Bank territory. According to “Al Ittihad” daily newspaper Abbas said that Liberman’s proposal was a provocation. He said the idea had not been raised in American-mediated negotiations with Israel, and if…

Foreign Minister Riyad Al-Maliki of the Palestinian Authority (Left) and Nicolas Maduro, President of Venezuela (Photo: ABN)

Grenada and Haiti recognized the State of Palestine

Grenada and Haiti have officially recognized the State of Palestine in a ceremony held at the United Nations headquarters in New York City on Friday, Palestinian Authority Foreign Affairs Minister Riyad Al-Maliki said. Al-Malki signed separate agreements to establish diplomatic relations with his Grenadian and Haitian counterparts. The agreement means that the states will exchange…

Palestinian flag flew in the Knesset

The Palestinian flag flew in the Israeli Knesset on last Wednesday as several senior Palestinian Authority representatives came to visit more than 30 Israeli ministers and MKs. The visit was organized by the Knesset Lobby for the Promotion of a Solution to the Israeli-Arab Conflict, led by MK Hilik Bar (Labor), and by the OneVoice…