Palestinian officials confirmed that the reconciliation talks between Fatah and Hamas will resume April 26. The dialogue will focus on three core issues dividing the two groups- elections, the government, and the PLO and security. The discussions, to be held in Cairo, mark the third round of talks toward a unity government. According to some reports, the government submitted its resignation to PA President Mahmoud Abbas, although he rejected the offer, stating that the government would remain in place until the completion of negotiations with Hamas. However, some PA officials flatly denied that any governmental resignation occurred.
Meanwhile, Hamas officials rejected the assertion that a new prison being built in Gaza would only house political prisoners and collaborators. Instead, the officials claim that both regular criminals as well as security threats would occupy the new institution. the Hamas government in Gaza began building the compound following Israel’s recent strike on the Strip that damaged the current prison.
JStreet’s , the new pro-Israel pro-peace lobby, executive director Jeremy Ben-Ami wrote an op-ed in today’s New York Times urging American Jews to reject the new right-wing Israeli government. Notably, he writes:
“Jewish Americans — who remain deeply loyal to Israel and staunch defenders of its right to exist — now face conflicting winds blowing on two continents. An overwhelming majority share the politics and worldview of President Barack Obama and have rejected the Bush-Cheney neoconservatism that framed Middle East conflict in simplistic black and white. They recognize, as the new president said in Ankara this week, that security requires peace and that peace begins by “learning to stand in somebody else’s shoes to see through their eyes.”
Yet leaders of the American Jewish community demand unquestioning loyalty to an Israeli government that has made Avigdor Lieberman its face to the world. This is a man whose platform called for loyalty oaths, whose words verge on racism and whose worldview is based on the very “us-versus-them” mentality so thoroughly discredited over the past eight years. “
President Obama intends to announce the nomination of Jeffrey Feltman, acting assistant secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs, to permanently fill the position. The nomination of Feltman, a well respected career diplomat who recently traveled to Syria to discuss regional security issues, comes as no surprise in Washington. Similarly, Frederick Hof will serve as deputy to State Department Envoy George Mitchell.
