by Daniel Siryoti, Shlomo Cesana and Yoni Hirsch
European officials say both Israel and the Palestinians would suffer consequences if bilateral negotiations fail • EU threatens to label settlement products, stop PA financial aid • Nasrallah says Iran deal reached because U.S. weary of war.
U.S. Secretary of State John
Kerry, seen here in Brussels, is to visit Israel amid heightened
tensions after Iran deal
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Photo credit: Reuters  |
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry was set to
arrive in Israel Wednesday at the height of diplomatic tensions between
Washington and Jerusalem over Iran. Kerry was set to meet with Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud
Abbas to try to make progress in diplomatic negotiations.
Before making his way to the Middle East, the
U.S. secretary of state stopped in Brussels. There, several senior EU
officials privy to confidential developments in the Israel-Palestinians
peace talks told him that if negotiations fail to produce results, the
EU intends to take punitive measures against both sides.
One EU official said that "if the talks fail,
the European Union will stop its annual aid to the Palestinian
Authority." Such a drastic measure, which would cut about 300 million
euros ($407 million) in annual funds, would likely cause the Palestinian
Authority to collapse.
The same source warned that Israel would also
suffer should the talks fail. He said 14 EU member states, including the
U.K. and France, are ready to start labeling products from West Bank
settlements differently than products manufactured within the Green
Line. Despite the warning, the decision could take some time, as all 28
member states need to back such directives.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Kerry
were scheduled to meet on Thursday and, ahead of the secretary of
state's visit, Israel has denied any crisis in peace talks.
On Tuesday, after Israel was admitted to the Human Rights Council advisory board, Kerry spoke warmly about that development.
"This is a particularly welcome development as
we work to end anti-Israel bias in the U.N. system," he said. Also on
Tuesday, U.S. President Barack Obama sent a memorandum to Kerry ordering
him not to move the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem from its current location
in Tel Aviv.
Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman flew to New
York on Tuesday from Italy, where he was visiting along with the prime
minister. Lieberman, who was scheduled to meet with U.N.
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, would continue to Washington ahead of the
weekend for the Saban Forum.
Meanwhile, the U.S. has reportedly developed a plan for
West Bank security arrangements after the creation of a Palestinian
state, according to Haaretz on Wednesday.
Daniel Siryoti, Shlomo Cesana and Yoni Hirsch
Source: http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_article.php?id=13779
Copyright - Original materials copyright (c) by the authors.
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