BLOGS

Blogs

Such a surprise!

September 7, 2013

In Blog

Israel’s goal with these negotiations is to mitigate the threat posed by the new guidelines and, more importantly, the spirit behind them. Israeli officials have said this openly: the EU guidelines are a consequence of the fact that Netanyahu is not pretending to negotiate, so let’s go back to negotiations.

It’s so painfully predictable, a five year old watching it could tell you exactly what’s going to happen. We’ll get to January, when the EU guidelines are due to go into effect, and the U.S. and Israel will say “we’re negotiating, so now’s not the time to implement the guidelines, put them on hold until we see where these talks are going”.  (http://normanfinkelstein.com/2013/norman-finkelstein-a-historic-moment-in-the-middle-east/)

***

Kerry urges EU to delay ban on Israeli firms in West Bank

 

Top US diplomat asks European FMs to consider postponing implementation of guidelines on aid to Israeli entities operating in West Bank; urges EU to support peace talks

Reuters

US Secretary of State John Kerry urged the European Union on Saturday to put off a planned ban on EU financial assistance to Israeli organizations operating in the West Bank, a US official said.

 

Kerry made the request at a meeting with EU foreign ministers in Vilnius, Lithuania at which he also called on them to support Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations, which resumed on July 29 after a nearly three-year hiatus.