Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will expedite planning for some 1,000 settler homes in East Jerusalem, a government official said on Monday, in a bid to placate a restive coalition ally without further aggravating a dispute with Washington.
The ultra-nationalist Jewish Home party, led by Economy Minister Naftali Bennett, has been issuing veiled threats to sever its political partnership with Netanyahu unless he agrees to its call for 2,000 new building tenders in settlements in the occupied West Bank.
But Netanyahu, just hours before the opening of parliament's winter session, sidestepped the demand. The government official said Netanyahu ordered the "planning of some 1,000 new units in Jerusalem - approximately 400 units in Har Homa and 600 units in Ramat Shlomo - to be advanced".
There was no public pledge to actually erect them, and Pepe Alalu, a left-wing member of the Jerusalem municipality's planning and housing committee, said the proposed projects in the two settlements, in areas of the West Bank that Israel captured in a 1967 war and annexed to the city, were not new.
"The plans have existed for a long time," Alalu told Reuters, adding that no building permits had been issued.
Palestinian officials have voiced alarm - echoed in the international community - over settlement building, viewing it as a main obstacle to creation of the independent state they seek in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, with East Jerusalem as its capital.
"We strongly condemn the latest Israeli announcement to expand its illegal settlements in and around occupied East Jerusalem, the capital of the State of Palestine," Palestinian chief negotiator Saeb Erekat said in a statement.
"This announcement amounts to evidence of an intent to further commit crimes defined by and punishable under international law."
Netanyahu, whose relations with U.S. President Barack Obama have long been strained, drew more criticism from the White House earlier this month after some two dozen Jewish families moved into homes purchased in an Arab neighborhood of East Jerusalem where about 500 settlers already live.
Israel regards all of Jerusalem as its "indivisible and eternal" capital, a claim that is not recognized internationally, and says Jews have the right to live anywhere in the city.
Some 500,000 Israelis have settled in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, among 2.4 million Palestinians. The World Court says settlements Israel has built there are illegal, a view Israel disputes.
Source:
http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/10/27/us-mideast-settlement-idUSKBN0IG23420141027
The city of Detroit urged a judge on Monday to approve its plan to get out of bankruptcy, calling it a sweeping effort to "solve some really bad problems" by wiping out billions in debt and spending $1.7 billion on better services in a long-term prescription for the Motor City.
"Look where we are: 7 billion-plus coming off the books, massive deferrals" of other debt, he said. "This is exactly the relief Detroit needed and it's gone about it in the right way."Judge Steven Rhodes will decide Nov. 7 whether Detroit's plan is fair and feasible in the largest public bankruptcy in U.S. history. It's an up-or-down ruling: He can't choose parts he likes and scratch others. Bruce Bennett, an attorney for the city, went through the key points and summarized evidence from a trial that began after Labor Day.
Detroit, which has lost 27 percent of its population since 2000, can't afford to raise taxes to get more revenue, especially from poor residents, Bennett said.
"It's self-defeating behavior. ... No one would come here. They would look at the tax assessments and say, 'This will never end,'" he said.
Bond insurers with more than $1 billion at risk fought the city during much of the trial, but now are on the sidelines after settling for cash, real estate and long-term leases on certain assets. General retirees who had hoped the Michigan Constitution would protect them from pension losses agreed to a 4.5 percent cut last summer after Rhodes said there is no shield.
Private talks between Detroit and three counties are also leading to a spinoff of the water department into a regional agency.
Bennett said those features and others created a "comprehensive effort to solve some really bad problems."
His remarks often were broken up by a back-and-forth with the judge who raised technical points about how to apply legal precedent to the historic case, which was filed less than 16 months ago.
Rhodes asked about the risks of Detroit's plan deflating in the years ahead.
Bennett agreed that nothing's bulletproof. He said $1.7 billion pledged to improve basic city services over the next decade will greatly depend on the mayor and city council.
It has to be an "incredibly high priority," Bennett said.
"We know what wasteful spending that does not advance the ball for this city looks like," he said.
Bennett also talked about the "grand bargain," an $816 million bailout by the state of Michigan, foundations and philanthropists to prevent the sale of valuable city-owned art at the Detroit Institute of Arts and avert even deeper pension cuts.
The museum "contributes to the image of the city. It might even contribute to bring residents back," Bennett said. "It's reasonable to keep the DIA assets, not liquidate them."
Source:
http://www.apnewsarchive.com/2014/Detroit-makes-final-pitch-at-historic-bankruptcy-trial,-says-plan-cures-'really-bad-problems'/id-a1daf8970218402b82b8a715d68394a7
"Look where we are: 7 billion-plus coming off the books, massive deferrals" of other debt, he said. "This is exactly the relief Detroit needed and it's gone about it in the right way."Judge Steven Rhodes will decide Nov. 7 whether Detroit's plan is fair and feasible in the largest public bankruptcy in U.S. history. It's an up-or-down ruling: He can't choose parts he likes and scratch others. Bruce Bennett, an attorney for the city, went through the key points and summarized evidence from a trial that began after Labor Day.
The city of Detroit urged a judge on Monday to approve its plan to get out of bankruptcy, calling it a sweeping effort to "solve some really bad problems" by wiping out billions in debt and spending $1.7 billion on better services in a long-term prescription for the Motor City.
"Look where we are: 7 billion-plus coming off the books, massive deferrals" of other debt, he said. "This is exactly the relief Detroit needed and it's gone about it in the right way."Judge Steven Rhodes will decide Nov. 7 whether Detroit's plan is fair and feasible in the largest public bankruptcy in U.S. history. It's an up-or-down ruling: He can't choose parts he likes and scratch others. Bruce Bennett, an attorney for the city, went through the key points and summarized evidence from a trial that began after Labor Day.
Detroit, which has lost 27 percent of its population since 2000, can't afford to raise taxes to get more revenue, especially from poor residents, Bennett said.
"It's self-defeating behavior. ... No one would come here. They would look at the tax assessments and say, 'This will never end,'" he said.
Bond insurers with more than $1 billion at risk fought the city during much of the trial, but now are on the sidelines after settling for cash, real estate and long-term leases on certain assets. General retirees who had hoped the Michigan Constitution would protect them from pension losses agreed to a 4.5 percent cut last summer after Rhodes said there is no shield.
Private talks between Detroit and three counties are also leading to a spinoff of the water department into a regional agency.
Bennett said those features and others created a "comprehensive effort to solve some really bad problems."
His remarks often were broken up by a back-and-forth with the judge who raised technical points about how to apply legal precedent to the historic case, which was filed less than 16 months ago.
Rhodes asked about the risks of Detroit's plan deflating in the years ahead.
Bennett agreed that nothing's bulletproof. He said $1.7 billion pledged to improve basic city services over the next decade will greatly depend on the mayor and city council.
It has to be an "incredibly high priority," Bennett said.
"We know what wasteful spending that does not advance the ball for this city looks like," he said.
Bennett also talked about the "grand bargain," an $816 million bailout by the state of Michigan, foundations and philanthropists to prevent the sale of valuable city-owned art at the Detroit Institute of Arts and avert even deeper pension cuts.
The museum "contributes to the image of the city. It might even contribute to bring residents back," Bennett said. "It's reasonable to keep the DIA assets, not liquidate them."
Source:
http://www.apnewsarchive.com/2014/Detroit-makes-final-pitch-at-historic-bankruptcy-trial,-says-plan-cures-'really-bad-problems'/id-a1daf8970218402b82b8a715d68394a7
"Look where we are: 7 billion-plus coming off the books, massive deferrals" of other debt, he said. "This is exactly the relief Detroit needed and it's gone about it in the right way."Judge Steven Rhodes will decide Nov. 7 whether Detroit's plan is fair and feasible in the largest public bankruptcy in U.S. history. It's an up-or-down ruling: He can't choose parts he likes and scratch others. Bruce Bennett, an attorney for the city, went through the key points and summarized evidence from a trial that began after Labor Day.
Detroit, which has lost 27 percent of its population since 2000, can't afford to raise taxes to get more revenue, especially from poor residents, Bennett said.
"It's self-defeating behavior. ... No one would come here. They would look at the tax assessments and say, 'This will never end,'" he said.
Bond insurers with more than $1 billion at risk fought the city during much of the trial, but now are on the sidelines after settling for cash, real estate and long-term leases on certain assets. General retirees who had hoped the Michigan Constitution would protect them from pension losses agreed to a 4.5 percent cut last summer after Rhodes said there is no shield.
Private talks between Detroit and three counties are also leading to a spinoff of the water department into a regional agency.
Bennett said those features and others created a "comprehensive effort to solve some really bad problems."
His remarks often were broken up by a back-and-forth with the judge who raised technical points about how to apply legal precedent to the historic case, which was filed less than 16 months ago.
Rhodes asked about the risks of Detroit's plan deflating in the years ahead.
Bennett agreed that nothing's bulletproof. He said $1.7 billion pledged to improve basic city services over the next decade will greatly depend on the mayor and city council.
It has to be an "incredibly high priority," Bennett said.
"We know what wasteful spending that does not advance the ball for this city looks like," he said.
Bennett also talked about the "grand bargain," an $816 million bailout by the state of Michigan, foundations and philanthropists to prevent the sale of valuable city-owned art at the Detroit Institute of Arts and avert even deeper pension cuts.
The museum "contributes to the image of the city. It might even contribute to bring residents back," Bennett said. "It's reasonable to keep the DIA assets, not liquidate them."
Source:
http://www.apnewsarchive.com/2014/Detroit-makes-final-pitch-at-historic-bankruptcy-trial,-says-plan-cures-'really-bad-problems'/id-a1daf8970218402b82b8a715d68394a7
Detroit, which has lost 27 percent of its population since 2000, can't afford to raise taxes to get more revenue, especially from poor residents, Bennett said.
"It's self-defeating behavior. ... No one would come here. They would look at the tax assessments and say, 'This will never end,'" he said.
Bond insurers with more than $1 billion at risk fought the city during much of the trial, but now are on the sidelines after settling for cash, real estate and long-term leases on certain assets. General retirees who had hoped the Michigan Constitution would protect them from pension losses agreed to a 4.5 percent cut last summer after Rhodes said there is no shield.
Private talks between Detroit and three counties are also leading to a spinoff of the water department into a regional agency.
Bennett said those features and others created a "comprehensive effort to solve some really bad problems."
His remarks often were broken up by a back-and-forth with the judge who raised technical points about how to apply legal precedent to the historic case, which was filed less than 16 months ago.
Rhodes asked about the risks of Detroit's plan deflating in the years ahead.
Bennett agreed that nothing's bulletproof. He said $1.7 billion pledged to improve basic city services over the next decade will greatly depend on the mayor and city council.
It has to be an "incredibly high priority," Bennett said.
"We know what wasteful spending that does not advance the ball for this city looks like," he said.
Bennett also talked about the "grand bargain," an $816 million bailout by the state of Michigan, foundations and philanthropists to prevent the sale of valuable city-owned art at the Detroit Institute of Arts and avert even deeper pension cuts.
The museum "contributes to the image of the city. It might even contribute to bring residents back," Bennett said. "It's reasonable to keep the DIA assets, not liquidate them."
Source:
http://www.apnewsarchive.com/2014/Detroit-makes-final-pitch-at-historic-bankruptcy-trial,-says-plan-cures-'really-bad-problems'/id-a1daf8970218402b82b8a715d68394a7
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