JERUSALEM: Israel’s finance minister has met the Palestinian prime minister, Israeli officials said on Thursday, in a rare visit by an Israeli Cabinet member to the occupied West Bank as part of a US peace push.
Israel’s security Cabinet agreed just before US President Donald Trump’s visit to Jerusalem and the West Bank May 22-23 on a series of measures aimed at building confidence in relations with the Palestinians.
Israeli Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon, who heads a center-right party in Benjamin Netanyahu’s governing coalition, went to Ramallah late on Wednesday to present the proposals to Palestinian Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah, the officials said.
The measures include opening the Allenby Bridge border crossing between the West Bank and Jordan 24 hours a day, an increased number of building permits for Palestinians living in Area C of the West Bank, and further development of industrial zones near the West Bank cities of Jenin and Hebron.
Under interim peace deals between Israel and the Palestinians, Area C — which comprises 60 percent of the occupied West Bank — is territory in which Israel maintains full security and civil control.
Youssef Al-Mahmoud, a Palestinian government spokesman, said Hamdallah told Kahlon that economic measures cannot serve as a substitute for a political solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, according to WAFA, the official Palestinian news agency.
The Palestinians want to establish a state in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, with East Jerusalem as its capital, but US-brokered peace talks collapsed three years ago.
An Israeli defense official said she believed Kahlon’s visit marked the first time an Israeli Cabinet minister had held an official meeting in Ramallah since 2014.
“Civil-economic steps that Israel would promote with regard to the Palestinian Authority were presented at the meeting, following the visit of the US president,” an official Israeli statement said.
Trump has vowed to push for a historic peace deal between the sides, though he has not presented any details on how he plans to revive negotiations.
On his visit to the region, he met separately with Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
Trump described both leaders as “reaching for peace.” Many analysts, however, see little prospect of a breakthrough, citing years of deadlock over issues such as the status of Jerusalem and Israeli settlement building, as well as little diplomatic experience in the new US administration.
Israeli finance minister meets with Palestinian PM in West Bank
Israeli finance minister meets with Palestinian PM in West Bank
Ceasefire with Kurdish-led force extended for another 15 days, Syrian army says
- The defense ministry said the extension was in support of an operation by US forces to transfer accused Daesh militants to Iraq
- The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces confirmed the ceasefire extension
RAQQA, Syria: Hours after the expiration of a four-day truce between the Syrian government and Kurdish-led fighters Saturday, Syria’s defense ministry announced the ceasefire had been extended by another 15 days.
The defense ministry said in a statement that the extension was in support of an operation by US forces to transfer accused Daesh militants who had been held in prisons in northeastern Syria to detention centers in Iraq.
The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces confirmed the ceasefire extension.
“Our forces affirm their commitment to the agreement and their dedication to respecting it, which contributes to de-escalation, the protection of civilians, and the creation of the necessary conditions for stability,” the group said in a statement.
Over the past three weeks, there have been intense clashes between government forces and the SDF, in which the SDF lost large parts of the area they once controlled.
Earlier in the day, the Kurdish-led force called on the international community to prevent any escalation.
The end of the truce came as government forces have been sending reinforcements to Syria’s northeast.
Syria’s interim government signed an agreement last March with the SDF for it to hand over territory and to eventually merge its fighters with government forces. In early January, a new round of talks failed to make progress over the merger, leading to renewed fighting between the two sides.
A new version of the accord was signed last weekend, and a four-day ceasefire was declared Tuesday. Part of the new deal is that SDF members will have to merge into the army and police forces as individuals.
The SDF said in a statement Saturday that military buildups and logistical movements by government forces have been observed, “clearly indicating an intent to escalate and push the region toward a new confrontation.” The SDF said it will continue to abide by the truce.
On Saturday, state TV said authorities on Saturday released 126 boys under the age of 18 who were held at the Al-Aqtan prison near the northern city of Raqqa that was taken by government forces Friday. The teenagers were taken to the city of Raqqa where they were handed over to their families, the TV station said.
The prison is also home to some of the 9,000 members of the Daesh group who are held in northeastern Syria. Most of them remain held in jails run by the SDF. Government forces have so far taken control of two prisons while the rest are still run by the SDF.
Earlier this week, the US military said that some 7,000 Daesh detainees will be transferred to detention centers in neighboring Iraq.
On Wednesday, the US military said that 150 prisoners have been taken to Iraq.
