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Israel approves the release of 26 Palestinian prisoners under the terms of the renewed so-called peace talks with the Palestinian Authority. The released inmates are considered the second group of prisoners discharged since August. Israeli prison authorities say the inmates will be released at least 48 hours after their names are published. Tel Aviv had said 104 Palestinians would be freed in stages following the start of negotiations on July 30. An Israeli official claimed last week that the move was linked to a deal with the Palestinian Authority in exchange for continued settlement construction in the occupied territories. But the PA has vehemently denied the allegation, saying the construction activities seriously threaten the so-called peace talks, that resumed in July after a three-year halt.

israel has revealed new plans for demolishing Palestinian homes in East Jerusalem al-Quds and the occupied West Bank. The Jerusalem municipality has begun issuing demolition orders for buildings in the city. Most of the orders are in two neighborhoods near the Shoafat refugee camp, in the north of al-Quds and the Palestinian side of the separation fence-- namely Ras Hamis and Ras Shehada. According to Palestinian sources, demolitions will leave some 15-thousand people homeless. This comes against the backdrop of Israel\'s new plans for building some 5-thousand settler units in the occupied Palestinian territories. Israel\'s settlement activities are considered illegal under international law.

Israel has revealed new plans for demolishing Palestinian homes in East Jerusalem al-Quds and the occupied West Bank. The Jerusalem municipality has begun issuing demolition orders for buildings in the city. Most of the orders are in two neighborhoods near the Shoafat refugee camp, in the north of al-Quds and the Palestinian side of the separation fence-- namely Ras Hamis and Ras Shehada. According to Palestinian sources, demolitions will leave some 15-thousand people homeless. This comes against the backdrop of Israel\'s new plans for building some 5-thousand settler units in the occupied Palestinian territories. Israel\'s settlement activities are considered illegal under international law.

US President Barack Obama described Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as \"a pain in the ass\" in the run-up to the 2012 presidential election, a new book authored by two American journalists reveals. \"We all know that Bibi Netanyahu is a pain in the ass,\" the recently-published book \"Double Down, Game Change 2012\" quotes Obama as having said. The book has been written by John Heilemann of New York Magazine and Mark Halperin of Time Magazine. The book also said Obama \"blamed himself for accepting the distorted political prism through which every effort to achieve a settlement in the region was mediated.\"

Iran\'s President Hassan Rouhani has warned that excessive demands could hamper talks on Iran\'s nuclear energy program. On his twitter page, Rouhani referred to his phone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Rouhani told Putin that excessive demands could complicate the process toward a win-win agreement. The Iranian president praised Moscow\'s efforts to help negotiate a settlement to the issue. According to the Kremlin, Putin told Rouhani that there\'s a QUOTE real chance to resolve the international standoff over Iran\'s nuclear energy program. Representatives from Iran and the five permanent members of the U-N Security Council plus Germany will sit down for fresh talks in Geneva this coming Wednesday. The meeting will be held under pressure from Israel which seems determined to force Western countries to block a nuclear deal with Iran. The previous round of talks ended without an agreement after France, blocked a deal under the influence of Israel.

Despite global condemnation, Israelis approve the construction of hundreds more new settler units on occupied Palestinian land. Ha\'aretz newspaper says Tel Aviv\'s Civil Administration has approved 799 new settler units be built in the West Bank. The new units will be built in the Givat Ze\'ev settlement north of Jerusalem al-Quds, and in Nofei Prat, near Jericho, and in Shiloh, also in northern Jerusalem. The move comes a week after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the Housing Ministry to suspend plans to build more than 20,000 units in the West Bank and East Jerusalem al-Quds.

Israel\'s plan to expel tens of thousands of Palestinian Bedouins from their desert land has sparked protests worldwide. In Britain, more than 50 renowned figures including high-profile artists, musicians and writers have signed a letter to object to the expulsion. Israel\'s plan to forcefully remove 70-thousand Bedouins from the Negev desert by destroying their villages has already been condemned by critics as ethnic cleansing. In their petition, the British activists have called the act systematic discrimination and separation. The letter is part of a day of protest on Saturday in more than two dozen countries. Israel\'s parliament is expected to approve the eviction by the yearned. The move will pave the way for the construction of new settler units in the historic desert. Israel\'s settlement activities are considered illegal under international law.

Israeli bulldozers have begun leveling Palestinian lands in a village near Ramallah to facilitate the construction of a new illegal settlement.

Palestinian mourners have gathered in Jalazon Refugee Camp, north of the occupied West Bank city of Ramallah. They held a funeral procession for 14-year-old Wajih Ramahi who was killed by Israeli forces on Saturday. Palestinians in the Jalazon refugee Camp say that it\'s not the first time that a young Palestinian is killed or injured by Israelis near the camp\'s school, which is a few hundred meters away from the Israeli settlement of Beit Eel.

As the fifth anniversary marking Operation Cast Lead approaches, the UK government is being urged to make a firmer commitment towards ending injustice for the Palestinians. The Coalition recently issued a warning to those dealing in settlement activities. They have urged those still trading with Israel to \'seek legal advice\' and warn of the \'reputational damage\' that may result if they don\'t.

Palestinians insist that they will not accept a security plan proposed by the US, regarding their conflict with Israelis.A member from the Fatah Party of acting Palestinian chief Mahmud Abbas has told Press TV that anything detracting the sovereignty of a Palestinian state is rejected. The plan was proposed by US secretary of state, John Kerry during his latest trip to occupied territories on Thursday and Friday ---- the second such visit in less than a week. Under the proposed plan, Israel will keep military presence in a future Palestinian state along its strategic border with Jordan. Acting Palestinian chief, Mahmud Abbas has rejected the US-proposed plan. Sources say he\\\'s also presented Kerry a letter laying down what Palestinians have called red lines. Yet, Abbas is facing growing criticism over the continuation of talks with Israelis. Critics say the talks must be halted, as long as Israel pushes ahead with its settlement projects on occupied Palestinian lands and continues aggressions against Palestinians. Although Abbas has rejected the security proposals outlined by the US, political factions are calling on him to end the negotiations and take other methods against the occupation, as they see the US taking Israel\\\'s side.

The UN is asking for 95 million dollars in food aid for almost a million Gazans, suffering under an Israeli blockade since 2006. Scores of UN projects have been shut down and thousands made jobless since Israel refused to allow in construction material in the besieged Gaza Strip. Palestinians are facing severe electricity shortages and reeling from devastating floods amid the cold winter weather. Meanwhile, the Israeli prime minister has said Tel Aviv will not stop even for a moment settlement construction on occupied Palestinian land despite the fact that U-N Resolution 4-4-6 and a ruling by the International Court of Justice conclude the Israeli settlements violate international law. Is Israel enjoying immunity from prosecution for its violations? On this edition of the Debate, we\'re discussing how a growing Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions campaign is affecting the global discourse on the Israeli-Palestinian problem.

A 14 year-old Palestinian boy has been killed after being run over by an Israeli settler near Jerusalem al-Quds. Amin Musa al-Fakeer was critically wounded on Saturday and transferred to hospital where he was pronounced dead. According to his family, Amin was on his way to buy goods and was travelling with his donkey when he was run over by an Israeli from the Maale Adumim settlement. Amin\'s family is still awaiting the Israelis to return his body to Bedouin camp Anata where they live.

Acting Palestinian Authority chief Mahmoud Abbas has once again warned against Israel\\\'s illegal settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories. Abbas has threatened to take diplomatic and legal action against what he calls the cancer of Israeli settlement building. He said that Palestine will use its rights as a UN observer to stop Israel\\\'s expansionist agenda. The statements came ahead of a visit to the Middle East by US Secretary of State John Kerry, which begins on Wednesday. Kerry is making the trip in order to try to convince Israel and the Palestinian Authority to agree on a framework for the so-called peace talks. Tel Aviv\\\'s refusal to stop building settlements is one of the stumbling blocks for the US-brokered direct talks. The international community has long viewed Israeli settlements as illegal.

Iran and the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany will start implementing the Geneva nuclear deal on January 20. Tehran says inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency are set to visit several nuclear sites. The spokesman for the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran says the suspension of 20-percent uranium enrichment and the diluting of the current stockpile are Tehran\'s most important commitments under the agreement. Behruz Kamal-vandi says Iran will use centrifuges producing 20 percent enriched uranium to instead produce uranium purified to 5 percent to comply with the deal. Meanwhile, Iran\'s foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has expressed hopes that implementing the deal will leave positive marks on regional and global peace and stability. He\'s voiced hope the implementation would pave the way to a final and conclusive settlement.

Iran is the current President of the Non-Aligned Movement. Iran\'s envoy to UN, Mohammad Khazaee, has emphasized NAM\'s support for the Palestinian people at the UN General Assembly. Khazaee went on to speak about the dire situation Palestinians are in, and the unjust Israeli policies being imposed on them. He mentioned Tel Aviv\'s occupation of Palestinian lands and the Israelis aggression and violation of international law, including illegal settlement building. He also cited detaining children, arbitrary arrests and use of excessive force as other violations being committed by the Israelis. The Iranian diplomat went on to reiterate the plan presented by President Hassan Rouhani at the 68th session of the UN General Assembly, which called for utmost efforts in order to materialize a world against violence and extremism.

Israeli forces open fire on a Palestinian teenager and kill him near the West Bank city of Ramallah. The shooting took place just north of the Israeli settlement of Ofra. Palestinian medical and security officials say the victim is 18-year-old Mohammad Mubarak, who lived in the Jalazone refugee camp. Palestinian sources said Mubarak was a laborer on a US-aid project in the area. Israeli officials have confirmed the deadly shooting. However, they claimed that Mohammad was a \"terrorist\" who was shot dead after opening fire on Israeli forces. Many Palestinians including women and children get killed or maimed by Israeli forces despite repeated outcries by human rights groups.

US Secretary of State John Kerry says Washington will continue to enforce the existing sanctions on Iran. Kerry made the remarks at a meeting with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference in Germany. According to the US State Department, Kerry and Zarif discussed next month\'s meeting on the settlement of a dispute over Iran\'s nuclear energy program. Tehran reached a landmark agreement with the five permanent members of the Security Council plus Germany in November to limit its nuclear activities, in return for a partial sanctions relief from the West. Earlier this month, the International Atomic Energy Agency, certified that Tehran had stuck to its side of the deal, giving access to key nuclear installations and cutting back its enriched uranium stockpile.

Iran is taking a government-owned British company to the High Court over purchased weaponry that was never delivered. According to a report by The Independent, Tehran is pushing for six hundred fifty seven million dollars in compensation. The dispute goes back to 35 years ago when the deposed Shah of Iran paid the International Military Services 1 billion dollars for Chieftain battle tanks and repair vehicles. The arsenal was, however, not fully delivered, as a result of the 19-79 Islamic Revolution. A spokesman for the British Ministry of Defense has said that they hope a settlement could be reached before legal proceedings begin. He also said no money will be paid to Iran while the EU sanctions remain in place. The European Union Council has already suspended part of the sanctions following the interim nuclear deal between Tehran and world powers in November 2013.

[26 Mar 2014] US secretary of state meets Acting PA Chief Abbas in Jordan - English

[06 Apr 2014] Palestinian Authority blames israel for failure of latest round of talks - English

[06 Apr 2014] Intl. hacktivists attack Israeli websites to sympathize with Palestinians - English

[10 Apr 2014] Palestinian Authority negotiator condemns Israeli sanctions as theft - English

[11 Apr 2014] Protesters slam confiscation of Palestinian home - English

[11 Apr 2014] Comment - israel will not release Palestinian inmates: Lieberman (P.1) - English

[11 Apr 2014] Comment - israel will not release Palestinian inmates: Lieberman (P.2) - English

[11 Apr 2014] Comment - israel will not release Palestinian inmates: Lieberman (P.3) - English

[11 Apr 2014] Comment - Israel will not release Palestinian inmates: Lieberman (P.4) - English