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Last update - 16:51 04/08/2009
Clinton slams Israel for evicting Arab families from East Jerusalem
By Natasha Mozgovaya and Barak Ravid, Haaretz Correspondents and The Associated Press
Tags: Jordan, Hillary Clinton 

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Monday criticized Israel for the eviction two Palestinian families from an Arab neighborhood in east Jerusalem, calling the move "deeply regrettable".

"The eviction of families and demolition of homes in east Jerusalem is not in keeping with Israeli obligations and I urge the government of Israel and municipal officials to refrain from such provocative actions," Clinton said.

The evictions came after the Supreme Court ruled that the houses belonged to Jews and that the Arab families had been living there illegally.
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Clinton's statements came during a meeting in Washington with Jordanian Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh, who told Clinton that incremental confidence-building measures that the U.S. wants Arab states to take will not produce a resolution to the conflict.

Assistant Secretary of State, Philip J. Crowley, also indicated in a that the Israeli Ambassador Michael Oren was summoned following the eviction, adding that "acting Assistant Secretary Jeffrey Feltman had a conversation with the Israeli ambassador. He expressed our concerns, and he promised to report those concerns back to the Israeli Government."

Jordan rejects U.S. call for improved ties with Israel
Jordan on Monday joined Saudi Arabia in publicly rejecting U.S. appeals to improve relations with Israel to help restart Middle East peace talks, throwing a damper on the Obama administration's push for Arab support behind new negotiations.

As Clinton looked on at a State Department press conference, Judeh said only a focus on the final settlement would work.

"In the Middle East, there has been in the past an over-investment, perhaps, by the parties in pursuing confidence-building measures, conflict-management techniques, including transitional arrangements, and an overemphasis on gestures, perhaps at the expense of reaching the actual end game," he said.

Judeh said that piecemeal approaches that never lead to peace and that have proven repeatedly to be confidence-eroding, rather than confidence-building must be avoided.

And, he criticized Israel for its refusal to halt construction of Jewish settlements in the West Bank and said the Israelis should respond to a 2002 Arab peace offer.

"Now, in 2009, many would say it is time for Israel to reciprocate," he said.

Judeh added that President Obama's Cairo speech and the unequivocal position of the new Administration helped 'to restore the perception of American impartiality' in the Arab world.

His comments marked the second time in three days that an Arab foreign minister bluntly refused U.S. calls to improve ties with Israel with confidence-building measures such as opening trade offices, allowing academic exchanges and permitting civilian Israeli aircraft to use their airspace as a way of demonstrating their commitment to peace.

On Friday, Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal expressed similar sentiments, also at a news conference with Clinton. Unlike Jordan, though, which has signed a peace deal with Israel, Saudi Arabia does not recognize the Israel.

Despite the statements, Clinton maintained that U.S. special Mideast Peace envoy George Mitchell was making progress and praised Jordan for its playing a strong and vital role in the region and expressed hope that negotiations could soon resume.

"We are working with the Israelis, the Palestinian Authority and Arab states to take the steps needed to make that possible," she said. "The foreign minister and I discussed this effort, and I expressed our deep appreciation for Jordan's leadership in working with other Arab states to support peace with deeds, as well as words."

Also Monday, Clinton held a video conference with a number of American diplomats regarding Iran, but refused to get into discussion with reporters on her perspective regarding the possible sanctions.

"We're not going to be commenting on what might be done. We wish to engage with the Iranians, and we continue to to try to engage in multilateral channels, and we have not received a response to that too. We are looking closely to developments in Iran. We're not prepared to talk about specific steps, but in the absence of some positive response, the international community will discuss the next steps which can include certain sanctions," she said.

Egypt sharply protests Sheikh Jarrah evictions

Egypt sent a strongly worded protest to Israel yesterday over the eviction of two Palestinian families from their homes in East Jerusalem's Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood.

"This is an act of dispossessing Arabs of their property," the message said, according to an Israeli government source. "Israel's moves are sabotaging Egypt's efforts to advance the regional peace process."

"We demand that you stop the expulsion and oppression of Jerusalem Arabs," the message continued. "Any change on the ground in Jerusalem must be in the framework of peace talks with the Palestinian Authority."

The message was delivered to Ambassador to Cairo Shalom Cohen by Hossam Zaki, who is Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit's bureau chief and has often served as his envoy to Israel, the government source said.

Cohen tried to explain that the homes in question have been Jewish-owned for more than 80 years, and the eviction was ordered by a court because the Palestinian tenants violated the terms of their rental contract. However, this failed to mollify Zaki.

Sweden, which holds the European Union's rotating presidency, also denounced the evictions yesterday, terming them "unacceptable." Such acts are "illegal under international law" and "contravene repeated calls by the international community ... to refrain from any provocative actions in East Jerusalem," it said in a statement.

The evictions "confirm a worrying trend that runs counter to the creation of an atmosphere conducive to achieving a viable and credible solution" to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the statement added.

The two families were evicted before dawn on Sunday by hundreds of policemen, after the Jerusalem District Court ordered their departure. Jewish families have already entered in their stead, with the consent of the owner, the Sephardic Community Committee, which has owned both houses since before the establishment of the state.

The evicted families, Palestinians who fled West Jerusalem during the War of Independence in 1948, were settled in these houses by the United Nations and the Jordanian government, which captured East Jerusalem during that war. When Israel captured East Jerusalem in 1967, the courts awarded the families protected tenant status. However, the district court ruled, even protected tenants must abide by the terms of their rental contracts, and these tenants failed to do so.
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  1.   Nobama and Hillaryous are starting to make J Carter look tough. 22:19  |  4:20 03/08/09
  2.   Improve ties with Israel 22:33  |  alan 03/08/09
  3.   Great BHO foreign policy! Push Israel while Arabs resist peace? 22:42  |  Way to go BHO! 03/08/09
  4.   Ask Hilary since when under U.S. law 23:10  |  Brad 03/08/09
  5.   Missed the point 23:10  |  Rich 03/08/09
  6.   obama/clinton will never make W look competent 23:10  |  bronxite10 03/08/09
  7.   Israel = Threat to US security; Sanctions now 23:13  |  Mary 03/08/09
  8.   Clinton slams Israel for evicting Palestinians in East Jerusalem 23:13  |  david 03/08/09
  9.   the Jordanian FM is dead right. 23:18  |  Axel 03/08/09
  10.   #1&3 23:31  |  jimmy carter 03/08/09
  11.   "Arabs Resist Peace" Mantra While Israel Steals Everything Left 23:36  |  Dolphin 03/08/09
  12.   Law 23:37  |  Peter 03/08/09
  13.   JORDAN`s FM IS DEAD WRONG 23:52  |  Brant 03/08/09
  14.   Clinton slams Israel 23:52  |  Dudka 03/08/09
  15.   Hillarious Clinton 23:56  |  Unchel 03/08/09
  16.   Mary#5 23:57  |  Louis Fried 03/08/09
  17.   and ?? 23:57  |  Arab American 03/08/09
  18.   #7 more sand in axels gears ,hes been posting crap for so 23:57  |  v hardman 03/08/09
  19.   Dead right, Axel 00:03  |  Ben Alofs 04/08/09
  20.   Idiotical reaction 00:09  |  CM 04/08/09
  21.   Why Should Any Country.... 00:10  |  Abe 04/08/09
  22.   She needs to slam Israel 00:11  |  American 04/08/09
  23.   This US Admin is disqualfying itself as interlocutor 00:11  |  Samuel Prime 04/08/09
  24.   Final settlement 00:18  |  Charles 04/08/09
  25.   Terror State 00:19  |  Hirz 04/08/09
  26.   No more Military Aid for Israel - No more special relationship 00:19  |  Marc Leb 04/08/09
  27.   Justice Must be Brokered by USA 00:22  |  Vladek 04/08/09
  28.   Typical Haaretz reporting. This story riginally was titled... 00:24  |  bat yam 04/08/09
  29.   Saudi advice: reciprocate initiatives / share your capital city 00:27  |  ZISD 04/08/09
  30.   The Arab stance is the correct one. 00:29  |  BBSNews 04/08/09
  31.   not stable 00:36  |  robk 04/08/09
  32.   to Axel #7 00:37  |  T. Traub 04/08/09
  33.   #5: I support you: Time is on Pals side 00:41  |  An Indian 04/08/09
  34.   to Alan #2 00:46  |  T. Traub 04/08/09
  35.   It is Israel`s Land 00:46  |  Brod 04/08/09
  36.   In a world of billions of poor people, how did this story spread? 01:01  |  Steve Randolph 04/08/09
  37.   Read the important new book `Israel Test` by George Gilder 01:10  |  Maya 04/08/09
  38.   Clinton SLAMS Israel 01:16  |  CB 04/08/09
  39.   No Skin in the Game 01:22  |  Ronald Ginson 04/08/09
  40.   Glad to see the Arab world standing up against Israeli violations 01:42  |  Johan Odin 04/08/09
  41.   To #3 01:49  |  George 04/08/09
  42.   Hey Hillary it was a court order 01:51  |  josh 04/08/09
  43.   Your answer Mary 01:56  |  Lucy 04/08/09
  44.   axel is finally right - time for gestures is over! 02:00  |  Arie 04/08/09
  45.   Earth to Hillary Israel`s court system is independent 02:02  |  Jeff 04/08/09
  46.   This must be the PR Obama/Clinton promised 02:02  |  Christopher 04/08/09
  47.   Clinton, and #s 2 and 5 02:13  |  bob 04/08/09
  48.   the last US president with any sense 02:16  |  david 04/08/09
  49.   Clinton slams Israel for evicting Arab families from East Jerusal 02:17  |  Michael 04/08/09
  50.   This US Admin is disqualfying itself as interlocutor 02:27  |  Samuel Prime 04/08/09
  51.   Israel Intransigence 02:28  |  U.S. Citizen 04/08/09
  52.   Jerusalem condems eviction of Indians 02:35  |  Michael 04/08/09
  53.   The house was not Jewish-owned 02:40  |  Anonymous 04/08/09
  54.   MRS. CLINTON IT IS TIME TO END ALL FUNDING TO ISRAEL 03:01  |  JOHN BROWN 04/08/09
  55.   empty reprimands 03:15  |  joseph 04/08/09
  56.   Rest world only has Palestinian leadership blame. 03:17  |  Jason 04/08/09
  57.   meddling and #5 Mary 03:17  |  Max 04/08/09
  58.   Clinton slams Israel 03:27  |  WHG 04/08/09
  59.   Was Saudi Initiative an Offer or an Ultimatum 03:28  |  Reid 04/08/09
  60.   Typical Dem response 03:28  |  leoblue 04/08/09
  61.   It`s Obvious Israel Doesn`t Want Peace 03:35  |  J Rosen 04/08/09
  62.   Rest of the story 03:53  |  Ken 04/08/09
  63.   Ethnic Cleansing! 04:11  |  Cynical American 04/08/09
  64.   Palestinian people need more than a "slam" from the U.S. & world 04:17  |  palestinian 04/08/09
  65.   Sad but true 04:37  |  AmericanZ 04/08/09
  66.   "jurisprudence", "justice", "enforcement", and "prudence" 04:44  |  eric 04/08/09
  67.   What`s the big deal? 04:50  |  Murray of Montreal 04/08/09
  68.   #9 Max, c`mon man 05:02  |  Mary 04/08/09
  69.   Let Hillary and Barak whine 05:10  |  Jesse 04/08/09
  70.   Aw, What A Shame! 05:25  |  Jeff Northridge 04/08/09
  71.   Ethnic Cleansing? 05:30  |  Cynical Australian 04/08/09
  72.   Empty words: What is the U.S. going to do about it? 05:39  |  peacelover 04/08/09
  73.   A friend of mine 05:44  |  MMM 04/08/09
  74.   The Arabs are right: Israel will take "concessions" and continue 05:46  |  peacelover 04/08/09
  75.   So They Didn`t Pay The Rent But Look At The Bigger Picture... 05:52  |  Yosemite 04/08/09
  76.   to # 21 - palestinian 06:05  |  Haaretz Fan 04/08/09
  77.   Cynical Australian 06:08  |  Cynical American 04/08/09
  78.   #22 Answer to palestinian. Please read this 07:07  |  Ron 04/08/09
  79.   josh ..er no it wouldn`t 07:11  |  CJ 04/08/09
  80.   Max - US is a UNSC Member it is their DUTY to meddle when UN Mem 07:15  |  CJ 04/08/09
  81.   Hillary is wrong 07:16  |  Brod 04/08/09
  82.   US appeasement bearing fruit-- 07:21  |  IW 04/08/09
  83.   Resist all interference in Israel internal affairs - 07:39  |  B. Gold 04/08/09
  84.   They are UN houses 07:53  |  Marilyn 04/08/09
  85.   Michael 08:10  |  Loft 04/08/09
  86.   Arabs evict in East Jerusalem 08:19  |  fredyr 04/08/09
  87.   The US government would never criticise its own Judicial 08:32  |  jacques 04/08/09
  88.   Jews vs. Arabs 08:52  |  Ephraim 04/08/09
  89.   more pressure on israel ! 08:59  |  levi d 04/08/09
  90.   #9 Nonsense, Jeff 09:01  |  Johnboy 04/08/09
  91.   #32 Excuse me, Jeff Northridge? 09:09  |  Johnboy 04/08/09
  92.   Netanyahu`s gamble. 09:10  |  Justine Effort 04/08/09
  93.   Again, the world thinks Jews have no rights 09:16  |  Jordan 04/08/09
  94.   It`s all here 09:57  |  sh 04/08/09
  95.   KABOOM, there it is 09:59  |  VIPER 04/08/09
  96.   #46 A little cut`n`paste will tell you why, Jordan 10:17  |  Johnboy 04/08/09
  97.   US must settle the green line issue - ignore eviction 10:19  |  Rod 04/08/09
  98.   Remember PEARL HARBOUR 10:23  |  tiki 04/08/09
  99.   Enough of the confidence building measures... 10:25  |  Dutch 04/08/09
  100.   #60 rod sees grenn but has no idea that hes posting garbage 10:41  |  v hardman 04/08/09
  101.   Arab nations and ties with Israel 10:48  |  Oz 04/08/09
  102.   Madness 10:51  |  kal 04/08/09
  103.   Anyone wants to live in Mrs. Clinton`s House? 11:06  |  Gil 04/08/09
  104.   Anyone wants to live in Mrs. Clinton`s House? 11:07  |  Gil 04/08/09
  105.   tiki - Uh huh. Did the japanese in the US lose rights forever? 11:18  |  CJ 04/08/09
  106.   OZ Considering the Arab nations use the Palestinians 11:25  |  PETER SM 04/08/09
  107.   v hardman - what on earth are you talking about? 11:28  |  CJ 04/08/09
  108.   But CJ, the Sudeten Germans?. 12:18  |  jordan 04/08/09
  109.   jordan - Fine company you wish to keep. 12:32  |  CJ 04/08/09
  110.   To CJ continued, 12:33  |  Jordan 04/08/09
  111.   jordan - a little research wouldn`t hurt .. 12:47  |  CJ 04/08/09
  112.   #39 Ronald Gibson, non-reader 13:01  |  BDS 04/08/09
  113.   CJ, I thought that these were HUMAN RIGHTS 14:25  |  Jordan 04/08/09
  114.   They didn`t pay their rent!!!! 14:28  |  Rubicon 04/08/09
  115.   # 32 t.traub 14:49  |  Axel 04/08/09
  116.   v hardman Green Line can be discerned via satellite 14:51  |  Rod 04/08/09
  117.   to cj (111) 14:52  |  tiki 04/08/09
  118.   #101 CJ CONTINUES WITH BULLSHINE DAY AFTER DAY 15:02  |  v hardman 04/08/09
  119.   #99 doris and her confused state of mind 15:07  |  v hardman 04/08/09
  120.   U.S. must end the $3 billion welfare check to Israel 15:10  |  Ray Gordon 04/08/09
  121.   US TAX Dollars Well Spent 16:18  |  David 04/08/09
  122.   israel is a democracy 17:31  |  Branko 04/08/09
  123.   #120 the myth goes on and ray swallows it !! 17:31  |  vhardman 04/08/09
  124.   #116 rod you can see disneyland from a satellite 17:43  |  vhardman 04/08/09
  125.   Clinton Slams Israel. 17:54  |  Pat Muir 04/08/09
  126.   Jordan - Try something else...shite doesn`t cut the mustard 18:00  |  CJ 04/08/09
  127.   tiki The law is the law. 18:11  |  CJ 04/08/09
  128.   v hardman. Don`t just spout, prove me wrong. 18:15  |  CJ 04/08/09
  129.   Rod The Greenline marks the armistice DEMANDED by the UNSC 18:43  |  CJ 04/08/09
  130.   Those crazy American gamers 19:27  |  Zionistwrath 04/08/09
  131.   3 Billion Welfare check 19:43  |  RNR 04/08/09
  132.   v hardman ... So disprove what I`ve said....should be easy 20:23  |  CJ 04/08/09
  133.   vhardman - Interesting theory... 20:29  |  CJ 04/08/09
  134.   # 123 hardman 22:07  |  Axel 04/08/09
  135.   T Traub, "If ever a country deserves" 22:09  |  alan 04/08/09
  136.   #130 alan and how to be wrong all of the time 22:56  |  vhardman 04/08/09
  137.   CJ, Mary 01:03  |  Max 05/08/09
  138.   You`re losing friends fast, girls 03:24  |  LibertyRising 05/08/09
  139.   RNR...here`s your hard-earned penny that you gave to Israel! 03:32  |  MMM 05/08/09
  140.   it`s the U.N houses they are being kicked out of 04:06  |  VIPER 05/08/09
  141.   CJ, your claim about international borders... 05:49  |  Jordan 05/08/09
  142.   vhardman...in your dreams... 06:34  |  CJ 05/08/09
  143.   #141 please define the borders you claim 10:52  |  v hardman 05/08/09
  144.   v hardman - Is Israel a Sovereignty? 15:49  |  CJ 05/08/09
  145.   Jordan - try somehing factual for a change... 16:59  |  CJ 05/08/09
  146.   Max Libya does not have power of veto in the UNSC 17:04  |  CJ 05/08/09
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