Israeli PM orders ministers to stop meeting with PalestiniansApril 9, 2014 - 13:38 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered cabinet ministers to stop meeting with their Palestinian counterparts, a government official said, hours after the U.S. blamed Israel for the breakdown of peace talks, Bloomberg reports. Israeli government officials have been told to refrain from meeting their Palestinian counterparts because the Palestinians violated commitments made under the peace talks, the official said. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn’t authorized to discuss diplomacy for the record. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry charged Tuesday, April 8, that the announcement of 708 new Jewish homes in east Jerusalem derailed eight months of Mideast peace talks. While Kerry said both sides took “unhelpful actions,” some Israeli officials fumed at his suggestion that Israel’s April 1 announcement of settlement construction brought the talks to collapse. “Israel will never apologize for building in Jerusalem,” Economy Minister Naftali Bennett, whose Jewish Home party is the third-biggest faction in Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s ruling coalition, said in a Facebook post. “Construction in Jerusalem is no ‘poof,’ construction in Jerusalem is Zionism,” said Bennett, whose pro-settlement faction controls the Housing Ministry and opposes any peace deal that creates a Palestinian state. Kerry is due to meet Wednesday in Washington with Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, who said last week that “Israel has done all that it can to reach an agreement with the Palestinians, and the ball is now in their court.” Lieberman has been in New York this week for a conference. Kerry’s efforts have received some support in Netanyahu’s government from parties who support talks to reach a two-state solution with the Palestinians. Top stories Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". The earthquake caused a temporary blackout, damaged many buildings and closed a number of rural roads. Partner news | The Power of One Dram to benefit Road of Life charity The companies inform that the May beneficiary of The Power of One Dram is the “Road of Life” charitable organization. Ucom General Director gives lecture at French University in Armenia The General Director of Ucom Ralph Yirikian delivered a lecture at the French University of Armenia. Kazakhstan welcomes Yerevan, Baku’s agreement to meet in Almaty Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has welcomed the agreement of Baku and Yerevan to hold negotiations in Almaty. Armenia offers to temporarily host, preserve Gaza manuscripts The Armenian Foreign Minister has said Yerevan is ready to help preserve manuscripts from the conflict zone in Gaza. |