(NSI News Source Info) JERUSALEM, Israel - July 7, 2009: Defense Minister Ehud Barak met with US Middle East envoy Senator George Mitchell in London on Monday, for their second meeting in the space of a week. During his meeting with the US Middle East envoy, George Mitchell, Israeli Defense Minister, Ehud Barak, stated that Israel would dismantle 23 illegal settlement outposts in the occupied West Bank in the coming weeks or months. 
Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak and special US envoy George Mitchell prepare to begin a meeting on June 30, 2009 in New York, New York. Barak travelled to New York in an attempt to reach a compromise with the Obama administration over the issue of continuing expansion of settlements in the West Bank.
During the London meeting, the second in one week, Barak said that a progress had been reached on settlements issue but added that ‘there is still a long way to go’ before reaching understandings.
Israeli sources reported that the ‘progress’ in talks includes ‘clarifying Israel’s position regarding the construction in existing Israeli settlements, and its readiness to hold peace talks with the Palestinians and the Arab world in exchange for normalization with Israel’.
He yet reiterated the Israel demand that the Palestinians must recognize Israel as the homeland of the Jews, and that they should acknowledge that a future agreement with the ‘Jewish state’ would mark the end of the conflict.
He also demanded the Palestinian to provide an answer to the status of Hamas movement and the Gaza Strip, Israeli Ynet News reported.
After a previous meeting with Mitchell in New York last Tuesday, Barak said that he is optimistic about the chances of launching a comprehensive peace process.
Barak demanded the Arab world to normalize with Israel in exchange for advancing peace talks with the Palestinians.
This maneuver, first presented by Israel’s Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, aims at having Arab countries sign permanent peace deals and normalize with the ‘Jewish state’ before a comprehensive peace deal is signed with the Palestinians.
In 2002, Arab leaders presented the Arab peace Initiative in which Arab states offered normalization and peace with Israel in return for its full withdrawal from the Arab and Palestinian territories illegally capture in 1967, including East Jerusalem.
Israel refused to accept the deal as a full package, the same way it refused to recognize the Road Map Peace plan as a whole package.
Israel still rejects to recognize the internationally guaranteed Right of Return of the Palestinian Refugees, refuses any withdrawal from Jerusalem, and refuses to hold talks on other main issues such as borders and natural resources.
Israel also insists on keeping its big settlements and settlements blocs in the occupied West Bank as it demands that those settlements would always be part of the ‘Jewish State’ under any peace agreement.
The International law and the Fourth Geneva Conventions regard settlements as war crimes, as an occupying power should not settlement part of its own population in territories it occupies. This is beside the basic fact that occupation itself is considered a war crime.
Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak and special US envoy George Mitchell prepare to begin a meeting on June 30, 2009 in New York, New York. Barak travelled to New York in an attempt to reach a compromise with the Obama administration over the issue of continuing expansion of settlements in the West Bank.
During the London meeting, the second in one week, Barak said that a progress had been reached on settlements issue but added that ‘there is still a long way to go’ before reaching understandings.
Israeli sources reported that the ‘progress’ in talks includes ‘clarifying Israel’s position regarding the construction in existing Israeli settlements, and its readiness to hold peace talks with the Palestinians and the Arab world in exchange for normalization with Israel’.
He yet reiterated the Israel demand that the Palestinians must recognize Israel as the homeland of the Jews, and that they should acknowledge that a future agreement with the ‘Jewish state’ would mark the end of the conflict.
He also demanded the Palestinian to provide an answer to the status of Hamas movement and the Gaza Strip, Israeli Ynet News reported.
After a previous meeting with Mitchell in New York last Tuesday, Barak said that he is optimistic about the chances of launching a comprehensive peace process.
Barak demanded the Arab world to normalize with Israel in exchange for advancing peace talks with the Palestinians.
This maneuver, first presented by Israel’s Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, aims at having Arab countries sign permanent peace deals and normalize with the ‘Jewish state’ before a comprehensive peace deal is signed with the Palestinians.
In 2002, Arab leaders presented the Arab peace Initiative in which Arab states offered normalization and peace with Israel in return for its full withdrawal from the Arab and Palestinian territories illegally capture in 1967, including East Jerusalem.
Israel refused to accept the deal as a full package, the same way it refused to recognize the Road Map Peace plan as a whole package.
Israel still rejects to recognize the internationally guaranteed Right of Return of the Palestinian Refugees, refuses any withdrawal from Jerusalem, and refuses to hold talks on other main issues such as borders and natural resources.
Israel also insists on keeping its big settlements and settlements blocs in the occupied West Bank as it demands that those settlements would always be part of the ‘Jewish State’ under any peace agreement.
The International law and the Fourth Geneva Conventions regard settlements as war crimes, as an occupying power should not settlement part of its own population in territories it occupies. This is beside the basic fact that occupation itself is considered a war crime. 
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