The Settlement Subcommittee of the Higher Planning Council of the Civil Administration is expected to meet Wednesday to approve the plans.

Peace Now said that a government committee was expected to grant initial approval for plans to build 339 homes at Galgal and Almog settlements in the Jordan valley, Kfar Adumim northeast of Jerusalem and at Kochav Yaacov and Shilo near Ramallah, and another 732 new units in Modi’in Ilit, the West Bank’s biggest settlement, AFP reported.

“These approvals are part of an unprecedented wave of advancing settlement plans. This is yet another message by Israel to the US and the Palestinians that this government is not ready for peace,” Peace Now said in a statement.

The news came as US Secretary of State John Kerry landed in Amman at on a fresh trip to the Middle East focused to revive stalled peace talks.

Meanwhile, Israel condemned new guidelines by the European Union on Tuesday which ban EU funding and cooperation with Israeli institutions that operate in territory captured by Israel in 1967.

According to Israeli Haaretz, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu plans to call European leaders on Wednesday and ask them to help postpone the publication of the new European Union guidelines concerning Israeli settlements.

The guidelines are expected to be officially released on Friday and go into effect on January 1, 2014.

The Palestinians are demanding that Israel stop building settlements in the West Bank as a condition for getting back to the negotiating table which have stalled since 2010. Israel says talks should restart without preconditions.

However, Syrian opposition groups were quick to reject the new peace initiative by President Bashar al-Assad. George Sabra, vice president of the opposition National Coalition, told Reuters the peace plan Assad put at the heart of his speech did “not even deserve to be called an initiative.”

The president’s rare address on Sunday in a hall at the opera House in central Damascus, his first since June, said the new initiative could only get under way when Western countries stop funding and arming rebels and said he is ready to hold a dialogue with those “who have not betrayed Syria”.

Assad said his nation is in a “state of war”.

“We do not reject political dialogue … but with whom should we hold a dialogue? With extremists who don’t understand any language but that of terrorism?”

“Or should we have dialogue with puppets brought to the country by the West,” he added.

Syrian President Bashar Assad’s speech was denounced by British Foreign Secretary William Hague as “beyond hypocritical” while Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said Syrian President Bashar al-Assad had simply repeated empty promises in his speech in Damascus on Sunday, and called for a swift transition in the war-torn country.

“His remarks are just repetitions of what he’s said all along. They are the same promises he made to us,” Davutoglu said.

Meanwhile, EU foreign affairs chief Catherine Ashton said Brussels would “look carefully if there is anything new in the speech, but we maintain our position that Assad has to step aside and allow for a political transition” while State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said his initiative is detached from reality, undermines the efforts of Joint Special Representative Lakhdar Brahimi, and would only allow the regime to further perpetuate its bloody oppression of the Syrian people.

The meeting comes one day after Syrian opposition forces launched on Saturday what is considered to be a major assault on a northern airbase used to deploy the regime with air power.

The Doha meeting is seen as the most serious push yet to form a united front in which many figures from the Syrian opposition are taking part to help end the 20-month ciris that has killed over 33,000 people.

Talks have emerged about a new plan to reshape the opposition into a representative leadership, as U.S. officials have expressed disappointment with the SNC’s inability to create a consistent plan and its lack of agreement and cooperation with different internal groups.

But there are serious doubts whether the split and ideologically different factions can come together and create a unified front in which the international community can cooperate with.

Dissident Riad Seif is apparently being suggested by the US as the head of the new government in exile.

Seif was among more than 20 opposition leaders who gathered in Jordan on Thursday to hammer out proposals for a new leadership, according to BBC.

The key subject is whether the main political opposition group, the Syrian National Council, which is made up of academics and Syrian exiles, will accept a U.S.-backed offer to set up a new 50-member leadership team with more representatives from inside Syria.

Under the new plan, called the Syrian National Initiative, the new leadership would also include representatives of the rebels’ Free Syrian army, political groups and local councils in Syria, Al Jazeera reported.

Meanwhile the attack on the Taftanaz base on saturday, from where helicopter gunships raid opposition positions and rebel-held areas, comes after regime forces this week launched an unprecedented wave of air strikes in a bid to reverse rebel gains, according to Al Arabiya.


The Syrian Revolution General Commission, a network of activists on the ground, said an operation had begun “to liberate the Taftanaz airbase.”

Mr. Erdogan, who twice last year scheduled and then canceled visits to Gaza, did not give any further details about when he planned to visit Gaza, which he mentioned to reporters traveling with him on a plane to Ankara, according to Today’s Zaman.

Mr. Erdogan’s comments came a few days after the emir of Qatar became the first head of state to visit Gaza since Hamas seized control in 2007, pledging $400 million for development projects.

The crown prince of Bahrain was also scheduled to visit the Palestinian enclave on last week but canceled at the last minute to avoid political repercussions, according to Arab news media.

Meanwhile, the United States on Friday voiced opposition to a planned visit to Gaza by Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, calling it a move that undermines peace and security in the region, Xinhua news reported.

State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said that Hamas, which seized power in Gaza in 2007, remains “a destabilizing force ” in the strip and the region.

Nuland said Washington would have conversations with Turkey, a NATO ally, to “try to get a better understanding of what’s intended ” in the planned trip.

The U.S. and Israel see Hamas as a terrorist organization.

Erdogan has reiterated that reconciliation between Turkey and Israel was conditional on the lifting of the Gaza blockade.

Bilateral relations between Ankara and Tel Aviv collapsed in May 2010 after Israel killed nine Turkish citizens on board an aid flotilla trying to break the blockade on Gaza.

The Turkish premier says ties will not be restored until Israel apologizes for the incident, compensates the families of the victims and lifts its siege of Gaza.

They said the explosions struck the General Staff Command Building (Hay’at al-Arkan) in the Umayad Square in central Damascus, which is one of the top military headquarters in the country.

There was no immediate word on casualties

“Two terrorist explosions on Wednesday took place near the General Staff Command in Damascus causing fire in the area.|

Information Minister Omran al-Zoubi stressed that the two explosions were caused by the two large-scale powerful explosive device (IED). Al-Zoubi said “All the military commanders and media persons are safe… the terrorist explosions were confined to material damages.” Rebel spokesmen released a statement claiming that dozens had died in the bombings, and residents reported hours of gunfire following the incident.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said that one of the blasts hit right in the heart of the district and the second in Kfar Susa neighborhood slightly to the west, according to AFP.

Gunfire and other smaller blasts could be heard after the explosions, as well as the sound of ambulance sirens. .

The explosions were heard around 7.00 am (0345 GMT), before regular working hours start in Syria.

“The explosions were very loud. They shook the whole city and the windows of our house were shuddering,” one resident reached by telephone said. A Damascus bomb attack on July 18 killed several top security officials, including Assad’s brother-in-law, the defense and interior ministers.

Given the United Nations Security Councils’ failure to agree on collective action in relation to Syria, the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani, urged countries the 67th UN General Assembly’s General Debateto contribute to the provision of support to the Middle Eastern country’s people until they gain their “legitimate rights.”

“In view of this, I think that it is better for the Arab countries themselves to interfere out of their national, humanitarian, political and military duties and do what is necessary to stop the bloodshed in Syria and the killing of innocent people and their displacement in order to guarantee a peaceful transition of power in Syria,” he added, pointing to the intervention of Arab forces in war-torn Lebanon in the mid-1970s as a precedent.

More than 18,000 people, mostly civilians, have died since the uprising against the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad began 18 months ago. Amidst reports of an escalation in violence over recent weeks, UN agencies now estimate that some 2.5 million Syrians are in urgent need of humanitarian assistance.

In his first appearance before the United Nations as President of France, François Hollande called on the world body to immediately give the Syrian people all the support they ask for in their fight against President Bashar al-Assad.

The United States, France and Qatar led the charge as the West and its allies attempted to use the U.N. General Assembly to win support for tougher international action against the Syrian regime.

U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon set the tone, condemning the bloodshed in Syria, where the beleaguered regime is battling an armed revolt and subjecting its citizens to what the U.N. peace envoy dubbed “medieval forms of torture.”

Rachel Corrie, a 23-year-old American from Olympia, Washington, was crushed to death March 16, 2003, by an Israeli military Caterpillar D9-R bulldozer while nonviolently protesting demolition of Palestinian civilian homes in Rafah, Gaza.

Israel has failed to carry out the “thorough, credible and transparent investigation” it had promised into the death of American activist Rachel Corrie in Gaza nine years ago, the US ambassador in Tel Aviv reiterated to her family on Friday, according to the Independent.

The lawsuit, filed in 2005 on behalf of the Corrie family by attorney Hussein abu Hussein, charges the State of Israel with responsibility for Rachel’s killing and failure to conduct a full and credible investigation in the case.

“The lawsuit is just a small step in our family’s nearly decade-long search for truth and justice,” said Craig Corrie, Rachel’s father. “The mounting evidence presented before the court underscores a broken system of accountability – tolerated by the United States in spite of its conclusions that Israel’s military investigation was not ‘thorough, credible, or transparent.’”

Oral testimony in the case began March 10, 2010. There have been 15 court hearings since with 23 witnesses testifying. The trial has exposed serious chain-of-command failures in relation to civilian killings and indiscriminate destruction of civilian property at the hands of the Israeli military in southern Gaza.

“This trial is an attempt to hold accountable not only those who failed to protect Rachel’s life but also the flawed system of military investigations which is neither impartial nor thorough,” said Hussein abu Hussein, the family’s attorney. “Under international law, Israel is obligated to take all feasible precautions to spare civilians from the dangers of military operations. The Israeli military flagrantly violated this principle in the killing of Rachel Corrie and it must be held accountable.”

Judge Oded Gershon’s reading of the verdict is expected to be brief. The Corrie family will hold a press conference following at the Colony Hotel, a short distance from the courthouse.

Taking place in the capital, Tehran, and under the chairmanship of Iran, the NAM Summit will be held on 26-31 August, and is expected to draw representatives from its 120 members, as well as from various associated observer countries.

Over recent days, there have been media reports of calls, from Israel and the US, for Ban to boycott the meeting.

Earlier this month, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urged Ban to cancel his plans to take part in the Tehran summit, according to Israeli media.

Washington made clear last week that it also wants the UN chief to boycott the event, and on Wednesday the US State Department reiterated its misgivings, according to Reuters. 

Mr. Ban’s spokesperson said that the UN chief takes “seriously” his responsibility and that of the United Nations to pursue diplomatic engagement with all of the world body’s Member States, in the interest of peacefully addressing vital matters of peace and security.

“With respect to the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Secretary-General will use the opportunity to convey the clear concerns and expectations of the international community on the issues for which cooperation and progress are urgent for both regional stability and the welfare of the Iranian people,” the spokesperson said.

“These include Iran’s nuclear programme, terrorism, human rights and the crisis in Syria.”

Over the past weekend, Mr. Ban’s spokesperson said the Secretary-General was “dismayed” by recent remarks threatening Israel’s existence – attributed to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei – and condemned the comments, which he described as “offensive and inflammatory.”

Iran says its nuclear program is peaceful, but Western powers and their allies fear it is aimed at developing atomic weapons. Iran has been hit with four rounds of UN Security Council sanctions for refusing to halt its nuclear enrichment program.

The BDI estimate includes the direct and indirect fiscal damage to the Israeli economy from an attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities. Figures suggest that there will be direct costs of $12 billion plus another $6 billion a year over a five-year-period, due to collapse of businesses.

The estimates are based on the cost and resulting damage to the economy from the 32- day Second Lebanon War in 2006, and BDI assumes that a war with Iran will last as long.

The Second Lebanon War cost the country half a percent in economic growth, according to BDI. Direct damage to property and infrastructure, along with the cost of restoring supplies, reached $2 billion. It estimated that in addition to a loss of half a percent in the gross Domestic Product, the war cost Israel 1.3 percent in production, resulting in a combined loss of $3 billion.

Israel considers Iran an existential threat because of its nuclear and missile programs, as Iran has denied allegations that it is seeking to build nuclear weapons, saying its nuclear program is peaceful .

Israel has been carrying on an increasingly public debate about whether to attack Iran’s nuclear facilities. Israel has been a leading international over in persuading Iran to halt its uranium enrichment program, but Israel insists that Iran must not obtain nuclear weapons. Israeli leaders say “all options are on the table,” suggesting a military strike, if they determine that other measures prove fruitless.

The statement came after the two leaders met two hours at the sidelines of the G-20 summit in Los Cabos, Mexico. Following the meeting, Mr. Obama said, “We in fact did have a candid, thoughtful and thorough conversation on a whole range of bilateral and international issues.”

The leader said, in a joint statement,  that they had both agreed that a political process has to be created to prevent civil war pledged to work with other international actors including the United Nations, Kofi Annan, and all the interested parties in trying to find a resolution to this problem.

The discussion between the two leaders cames as Russia reportedly is preparing to send two warships with marines to its naval base in Syria while the UN Supervision Mission in Syria (UNSMIS) announced over the weekend that it had suspended the monitoring activities of its observers due to the intensification of armed violence across the country in recent days.

The US has repeatedly expressed frustration at Russia’s blocking of UN Security Council moves against Assad.

Meanwhile, the head of the UN mission in Syria is to brief the Security Council on Tuesday about the deteriorating conflict, according to Al Jazeera. 

Syrian government forces, meanwhile, shelled districts in the central city of Homs and Damascus on Monday.

Al Jazeera citing the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said 94 people were killed across the country on Monday, including 63 civilians, three army deserters and 28 government troops.

The Pentagon which manges the military relations between the two countries has expressed concerns over moves by Egypt’s ruling generals to stay in power despite a presidential vote while it urged the Egyptian military to relinquish power to civilian-elected authorities and to respect the universal rights of the Egyptian people and the rule of law.

The military power grab poses a dilemma for the  Obama administration, which publicly backed the revolution that ousted longtime leader Hosni Mubarak last year but also sees the Egyptian army as a crucial regional security partner, according to Al Jazeera. 

The Brotherhood has called on people to demonstrate against what it says is a “military coup” by the ruling generals, as the country awaits the final tally from the election expected to come out on June 21. All of the results announced on Sunday night are unofficial.

But shortly before the final result of the elections the generals who run the country stirred controversy by issuing new rules in a constitutional declaration demonstrating the president’s powers that made clear power remains within the hands of the army.

According to a decree issued on Sunday night, the military council will hold authority over the budget and the legislative process until a new parliament is elected, according to Al Arabiya. 

The decree also limits the new president’s powers who can only declare war if approved by the military council.

Sameh Ashour, the head of SCAF’s advisory council, said the incoming president would probably have a short term, and would be replaced after a new constitution was drafted, according to Al Jazeera.