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Newest Information/Analysis
APN Publications
Peace Now (Israel) Publications
Other Recommended Reading
Official Statements (U.S. & the Parties)
Background on the Negotiators
Additional Resources
- Hard Questions, Tough Answers with Yossi Alpher: August 12, 2013
APN Publications
APN's Lara Friedman at The Jewish Journal: Why the Israeli-Palestinian peace talks must work.August 15, 2013
Podcast: APN's Lara Friedman on Mideast Peace Propects at Voice of America, August 14, 2013
APN's Lara Friedman, Blog post: Netanyahu's Prisoners vs. Settlements Game August 14, 2013
APN's Lara Friedman, Blog post: A review of Israel's commitments regarding Palestinian prisoner release August 14, 2013
APN's Lara Friedman, Blog post: New Peace Talks, New Settlement Provocations -- A Timeline, August 12, 2013
APN Statement Condemning New Settlement Tenders, Calling for Strong U.S. Response August 12, 2013
Yossi Alpher, on upcoming round of peace talks August 13, 2012
APN's Lara Friedman at The Huffington Post: Peace Talks, Settlements and Smirking Into the Abyss. August 11, 2013
APN Statement Condemning Israeli Government's Subsidizing Settlements August 6, 2013
Yossi Alpher on settlement announcements, the referendum question, & the EU settlement directive August 5, 2013
APN Welcomes Indyk Appointment; Welcomes Negotiators to DC. July 29, 2013
Podcast: APN's on Ori Nir Public Radio International's "To the Point" on the newly restarted Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations July 31, 2013
Yossi Alpher on prisoner release, Washington talks, and the EU July 29, 2013
Podcast: APN's Lara Friedman assesses the US role in peace talks at a BICOM/Fathom Forum in London July 23, 2013
Yossi Alpher on the renewal of peace talks & the EU settlements July 22, 2013
APN Briefing Call with Ian Black, the Middle East Editor of the Guardian. July 22, 2013
APN Welcomes Resumption of Peace Talks; Urges Leaders to Negotiate in Earnest; Calls for Stakeholders' Support. July 19, 2013
APN Statement: This Is The News That We've Been Waiting For. July 19, 2013
APN: Settlement Construction Takes Center Stage. July 17, 2013
APN Welcomes New EU Policy on Settlements; Condemns Anticipated New Settlement Approvals. July 16, 2013
APN Peace Parsha: Is the Land Holy? July 5, 2013
"About them, the words of Jeremiah ring as true today as they did when they were spoken-'You entered and defiled My land.'"
APN Campaign: Our Leaders Must Know: We Want Peace! July 2, 2013
Peace Now (Israel) Publications
Peace Now News Flash: Government announces 1,187 housing units in East Jerusalem and West Bank settlements for marketing. August 11, 2013
Peace Now News Flash: Over 1000 Units Promoted in Settlements; Promise to Restrain Settlement Growth During Negotiations. August 8, 2013
Peace Now News Flash: Israeli Government Declares 91 settlements As National Priority Areas: 89 of them East of the Built Separation Barrier. August 4, 2013
Al-Monitor Interview with Peace Now's Yariv Oppenheimer: EU Boycott Contributes To Israeli Decision on Peace Talks, July 24, 2013
Haaretz - Peace Now's Yariv Oppenheimer: Bennett and Katz Playing Into The Hands of Hamas. July 28, 2013
Peace Now's Yariv Oppenheimer in YNet: Europe: A Step on the Road to South Africa
Peace Now News Flash: 3 Months Into The New Government, 5,170 Plans Advanced. July 22, 2013
Peace Now News Flash: Israel's State Comptroller: 'Israeli Authorities' Act Against the Law and For the Settlers.' July 17, 2013
Peace Now's Activities & Media Update: July 2013
Why is Israel 'opening up the settlement floodgates' just as peace talks start? August 12, 2013 - interview with Danny Seidemann in the Washington Post "...There are a few different theories for why the Israeli government does this. The most prevalent is that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is likely trying to appease more hard-line members of his government, who might be unhappy with Netanyahu's decision to release 104 Palestinian prisoners, a concession to the peace process. Other theories are that Israeli officials are seeking to improve their negotiating position by approving settler construction that they can later roll back, that they're trying to deliberately undermine the peace process or that they want to humiliate Palestinian leaders and weaken them within Palestinian politics."
Dov Weisglass- YNet: This is not how you make peace. August 8, 2013 "...The Israeli government's decision is aimed at deepening, expanding and enlarging the Israeli "holes" in the Palestinian 'slice of cheese,' despite knowing full well that the Palestinians will never agree to a state that is dissected by Israeli settlements, and neither will the international community. "
Open Zion- Matt Duss: Giving Talks The Best Chance Possible. August 8, 2013 "...While the images of a U.S. secretary of state shuttling back and forth from the Middle East may seem familiar on the surface, Secretary Kerry's efforts to create movement on a range of fronts marks a shift in strategy for the administration. While still acknowledging direct talks between Israelis and Palestinians as the necessary arena for final status negotiations, Secretary Kerry's approach is based on the understanding that certain steps can and must be taken in order to give the talks a greater chance of success. "
The Boston Globe- Alan Berger: The Mideast gamble. August 2, 2013 "What has been derided as a quixotic quest is actually a shrewd bet."
The Boston Globe- Farah Stockman: 'Getting to Yes' in the Middle East. July 30, 2013 "They said it couldn't be done. But he did it. Monday night, John Kerry got Palestinian and Israeli negotiators to agree to eat a meal together for the first time in years. They say talks can't make peace. But who knows without trying? One thing we know for sure is that peace doesn't make itself. "
The Forward - Yossi Alpher: The Issues the Peace Process Should Avoid. July 29, 2013 "...Let's suspend our skepticism and assume real negotiations begin and that the two sides are capable of delivering on the concessions they offer. Assuming all that, the most important challenge the Israelis and Palestinians face is to agree to abandon the disastrous mantra that has defined their deliberations for 20 years: "nothing is agreed until everything is agreed."
Text of the EU statement on "Guidelines on the eligibility of Israeli entities and their activities in the territories occupied by Israel since June 1967 for grants, prizes and financial instruments funded by the EU from 2014 onwards." July 19, 2013
Jerusalem Post- Yuval Diskin: Israel nears point of no return on 2-state solution. July 15, 2013
The Atlantic- Special Report: Is Peace Possible?
Chapter 1: Drawing an Israel-Palestine Border. October 25, 2011
Chapter 2: The Role of Security in an Israeli-Palestinian Peace Deal. October 31, 2011
Chapter 3: Resolving the Palestinian Refugee Crisis. November 7, 2011
Chapter 4:The Future of Jerusalem. November 14, 2011
Official Statements (U.S. & the Parties)
Painful Exchange between State Department Spox and a Journalist regarding U.S. policy on settlements and Jerusalem. August 14, 2013
Middle East Peace Negotiators Come To Washington. August 1, 2013, published on the White House blog.
Obama: "The most difficult work of these negotiations is ahead, and I am hopeful that both the Israelis and Palestinians will approach these talks in good faith and with sustained focus and determination. The United States stands ready to support them throughout these negotiations, with the goal of achieving two states, living side by side in peace and security." Kerry: "I think everyone involved here believes that we cannot pass along to another generation the responsibility of ending a conflict that is in our power to resolve in our time... while I understand the skepticism, I don't share it and I don't think we have time for it... A viable two-state solution is the only way this conflict can end, and there is not much time to achieve it, and there is no other alternative."
Transcript of Background Briefing on Israeli-Palestinian Peace Talks. July 30, 2013 Official: "...we are under no illusions that this is going to be easy. It's going to be very, very hard, and it's going to take some very, very tough choices by the leaders if we're going to get where we were all trying to get to."
Special Briefing by a Senior White House Official and Senior State Department Official on Israeli-Palestinian Peace Talks. July 30, 2013
Official: "As the Secretary announced, we watched final status negotiations, direct final status negotiations between the parties today. [Senior White House Official] mentioned, I think, the atmosphere was excellent between the parties. We tackled mainly process issues. This summer, you can imagine, is the beginning of a nine month negotiation. There are certain modalities that need to be worked out between the parties. We agreed on the next meeting, which will take place in the region within the next two weeks. We discussed the U.S. role, and as the Secretary said, we will be playing the role as facilitator. We will be deeply engaged in the process and we will be there every step of the way."
Statement by President Obama on the Resumption of Israeli-Palestinian Negotiations. July 29, 2013 Obama: "I am pleased that Prime Minister Netanyahu and President Abbas have accepted Secretary Kerry's invitation to formally resume direct final status negotiations and have sent senior negotiating teams to Washington for the first round of meetings. This is a promising step forward, though hard work and hard choices remain ahead."
Transcript Of SecState Kerry's press conference with Livni and Erekat. July 30, 2013
Kerry: "We're here today because the Israeli people and the Palestinian people both have leaders willing to heed the call of history, leaders who will stand strong in the face of criticism and are right now for what they know is in their people's best interests. Their commitment to make tough choices, frankly, should give all of us hope that these negotiations actually have a chance to accomplish something."
Transcript Of SecState Kerry's Remarks With Ambassador Martin Indyk. July 29, 2013
Kerry: "Ambassador Indyk is realistic. He understands that Israeli-Palestinian peace will not come easily and it will not happen overnight. But he also understands that there is now a path forward and we must follow that path with urgency. He understands that to ensure that lives are not needlessly lost, we have to ensure that opportunities are not needlessly lost. And he shares my belief that if the leaders on both sides continue to show strong leadership and a willingness to make those tough choices and a willingness to reasonably compromise, then peace is possible."
Transcript of SecState Kerry's Statement on Resumption of Israeli-Palestinian Peace Talks. July 19, 2013
Kerry: "On behalf of President Obama, I am pleased to announce that we have reached an agreement that establishes a basis for resuming direct final status negotiations between the Palestinians and the Israelis. This is a significant and welcome step forward."
Remarks at the American Jewish Committee Global Forum by SecState Kerry. June 3, 2013
Kerry: "I thank you, every single one of you, for all that you do for Israel, but more for human rights, for civil rights around the world, for women's rights, in fighting racism, religious intolerance, and torture. Thank you for all that you do to fight anti-Semitism around the world. I'm proud that I just appointed Ira Forman to lead that fight against anti-Semitism from the State Department, and you have a very strong partner in Ira. And of course, I thank you for what you do for the American Jewish community."
Tzipi Livni
Livni is the current Israeli Minister of Justice. She has held 9 Cabinet portfolios in various governments, including serving from 2006-2009 as the Minister of Foreign Affairs when she was the head of the Kadima party. She now heads the Hatnuah party.
Yitzhak Molcho
Molcho is a lawyer and longtime advisor to Benjamin Netanyahu, Molcho headed the Israeli negotiating team under the previous Netanyahu government.
Saeb Erekat
Erekat is a veteran leader of Palestinian negotiations with Israel, dating back to the 1991 Madrid peace conference, though the present day.
Mohammad Shtayyeh
Shtayyeh is another veteran Palestinian peace negotiator, dating back to the 1991 Madrid peace conference.
Martin Indyk
On July 29, 2013, Secretary of State Kerry named Indyk to be the U.S. special envoy for the Israeli-Palestinian negotiations. Indyk previously served in a number of high-level U.S. government positions, including Ambassador to Israel and Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs. As envoy, he is on leave of absence from his current position as the vice president and director of the Foreign Policy Program at the Brooking Institution.
News Nosh Special Section
During this exciting time, News Nosh, our free, daily news roundup, will cover the latest news and analysis. Click HERE to get the News Nosh email delivered to you.
APN's "Facts on Ground" map app. Includes pins and embedded information/links covering settlement developments in the news.