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The idea of a Palestinian state has run its course and Israel must seek another solution to the conflict with the Palestinians, Economics Minister Naftali Bennett (Jewish Home) said Monday, joining a growing number of coalition members who have recently expressed firm opposition to the two-state solution. “The idea of forming a Palestinian state in Israel has reached a dead end,” Bennett said at a meeting of the Yesha Council, the umbrella organization of Jewish communities in the West Bank. Never in the history of the Jewish people has so much energy been invested in “something so pointless,” and “we...

Aug. 2, 2005 14:26 Settlers accept deal on Sderot protest By MATTHEW GUTMAN AND YAAKOV KATZ Police and settler leaders finally reached a last-minute deal close to midnight Monday night after days of heated negotiations on the fate of an anti-disengagement rally in the southern Negev town of Sderot Tuesday. Heads of the Council of Jewish Communities in Judea, Samaria and the Gaza Strip agreed to hold a "short" rally in Sderot between 6:30 and 9:30 p.m. and then move on to Ofakim for the night. Negotiations will resume on Wednesday to discuss the continuation of the rally, as the...

Jan. 12, 2005 19:26 | Updated Jan. 12, 2005 19:43 Yesha spokesman sent on vacation By YAAKOV KATZ Settlers praying during a protest against the disengagement plan opposite of the Knesset Yehoshua Mor-Yosef – longtime spokesman for the Council of Jewish Communities in Judea, Samaria and the Gaza Strip - was forced to take a leave of absence Wednesday over a recent rift between him and the settlement council. Mor-Yosef, said to be one of the more moderate voices within the council, reportedly threatened to resign this week over recent calls by settler leaders and rabbis to escalate the struggle...

Dec. 19, 2004 21:38 | Updated Dec. 20, 2004 22:40 Prosecution to probe whether settler leader incited to rebellion By YAAKOV KATZThe Justice Ministry will 'look into' statements made by Binyamin Regional Council head Pinchas Wallerstein, calling for civil disobedience against the Gaza pullout, to decide whether he will be charged for incitement to rebellion. After the probe, the folder will be passed on to the Attorney General, who will make a final decision whether or not to open a criminal investigation. The decision was made Monday night at an emergency meeting called by Attorney General Menahem Mazuz with the...

Dec. 19, 2004 21:38 | Updated Dec. 20, 2004 18:47 Yesha endorses Wallerstein's call to resist pullout By YAAKOV KATZ Yesha Council head Benzi LiebermanBenzi Lieberman, left, and Pinchas Wallerstein Photo: Ariel Jerozolimski (File)Advertisement Lower Your Blood Pressure The Council of Jewish Communities in Judea, Samaria and the Gaza Strip (Yesha) convened Monday evening and released a statement supporting Wallerstein's call to break the law and go to jail if necessary to resist the evacuation of settlements. "The Yesha Council repeats Mr. Wallerstein's statements that the proposed law to remove Jews from their homes is immoral, violates human rights, and...

Jan. 6, 2004 Settler children to learn importance of IDF By YAAKOV KATZ In fear of violent confrontations between settlers and IDF soldiers in the case of the removal of an outpost or a settlement, the Council for Jewish Communities in Judea, Samaria and Gaza presented an education program Tuesday designed to teach school children in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip of the importance of the Israel Defense Forces in Israeli society. The program, intended for students from 1st to 12th grade, will begin in several days and will last a month at the end of which, the...

Last Update: 11/12/2003 20:38 Olmert: plan includes dismantling many settlements By Aluf Benn and Gideon Alon, Haaretz Correspondents, Haaretz Service and Agencies Israel's Deputy Prime Minister said Thursday Israel would have to dismantle "a considerable amount of settlements" under his plan for a unilateral withdrawal from some areas of the Gaza Strip and West Bank. In an interview with The Associated Press, Ehud Olmert said he would soon reveal precise details of his plans for an Israeli pullback from some areas and the annexation of others. Israel had to be prepared to take action on its own if peace talks...