CMEP Bulletin: Sussia Avoids Demolition for the Moment
After Heavy Diplomatic Pressure, Israel Moves to Delay Demolition of Palestinian Village of Sussia [Haaretz]
Haaretz reports, “The [Israeli] government has asked the High Court of Justice for a two-week postponement in presenting its position concerning the evacuation of a Palestinian village in the West Bank. Ahead of Netanyahu’s trip to London, Haaretz learned that British diplomats contacted Israeli officials and made it clear that Britain had reservations about the planned evacuation. … The High Court petition to demolish the village was submitted in 2014 by the Regavim nonprofit organization, funded by settler-group Amana and regional authorities in the West Bank, asking to demolish the ‘illegal Palestinian outposts’ in Sussia. The government has asked every few weeks over the past year-and-a-half for a postponement for presenting the defense minister’s position on the matter. … American and European diplomats have been very involved in the Sussia issue for the past few years, and have demanded Israel not demolish the village. Since the change of administration in Washington early this year, the Americans have been less involved in the case. … Sussia is located in Area C, the region under full Israeli civil and security authority. Israel has never prepared a master plan for the village and has rejected a master plan presented in the name of the residents.”
Israel Grants Building Permits for 240 Homes in East Jerusalem [The Times of Israel]
The Times of Israel reports, “The Jerusalem Planning and Building Committee … approved 90 units in the Gilo neighborhood and 150 in the Ramat Shlomo neighborhood. … Jewish East Jerusalem neighborhoods have enjoyed an increase in building approvals in recent months. Israel took control of East Jerusalem in the Six Day War of 1967 and later extended sovereignty over it in 1980, in a move never recognized by the international community. … Last month, the Planning and Building Committee approved a major expansion of the Jewish neighborhood of Nof Zion in East Jerusalem, signing off on plans to add 176 homes. Nof Zion is located inside the Arab neighborhood of Jabel Mukaber. In allowing Nof Zion to add the new units to 91 existing homes, the expansion would create the largest Jewish enclave in an Arab neighborhood of the city, left-wing groups charged.”
Sisi Reiterates Commitment to Israel-Palestinian Peace During Abbas Visit [The Jerusalem Post]
“The statement came after a meeting between the Egyptian president and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in Sharm el-Sheikh on the sidelines of an international conference. … ‘Sisi affirmed that Egypt will continue its efforts to resume negotiations between the Israeli and Palestinian sides in order to reach a just and comprehensive solution that guarantees the right of the Palestinians to establish an independent state along June 1967 borders,’ the statement reads, according to the official PA news site Wafa. … ‘Ongoing Egyptian moves to help our Palestinian brothers start a new stage of unity in the Palestinian ranks is preparation for a just peace between Palestinian and Israeli sides,’ the Egyptian president said in a speech in early October,” according to The Jerusalem Post.
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