Netanyahu Rejects Settlement Freeze, Teens Refuse to Serve in ’Israeli’ Army

Local Editor

"Israeli" Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday he is opposed to freezing construction in settlements as a means to extend talks with the Palestinian Authority, as a group of young "Israelis" made a public pledge to not serve in the military.

A settlement freeze "would serve nothing," Netanyahu told public radio.
Meanwhile, some 50 of "Israeli" teenagers informed Netanyahu they will refuse to serve in the military in a letter on Saturday.

They referred to "human rights violations" in the West Bank, including "executions, settlement construction, administrative detention, torture, collective punishment and unfair distribution of water and electricity."
"Any military service perpetuates the current situation, and therefore we cannot take part in a system that carries out these deeds," read the letter posted on the Facebook page of Yesh Gvul.

Yesh Gvul [There is a limit] stated that the military service is compulsory in "Israel", with men serving three years and women two.
Meanwhile, starts on new settlement building in the West Bank increased by 123.7 percent last year, according to recently-published data from "Israel's" statistics bureau.

Netanyahu, in an interview broadcast on Friday on "Israel's" Channel Two television, said his government would give up "some settlements" in the occupied West Bank to help secure a peace agreement.

According to Netanyahu, who met with Kerry and US President Barack Obama in Washington last week, a framework agreement to extend talks would not necessitate "Israeli" and Palestinian signatures but rather only by "an American document on American positions."
"I'm not sure the Palestinians will accept it," Netanyahu told public radio of the framework agreement.

Netanyahu said any deal with the Palestinian Authority would take at least another year to negotiate.
Obama is due to meet head of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, on March 17 at the White House.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team