<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" standalone="yes"?><oembed><version><![CDATA[1.0]]></version><provider_name><![CDATA[Occupied Palestine | فلسطين]]></provider_name><provider_url><![CDATA[https://occupiedpalestine.wordpress.com]]></provider_url><author_name><![CDATA[occupiedpalestine]]></author_name><author_url><![CDATA[https://occupiedpalestine.wordpress.com/author/hajarhajar/]]></author_url><title><![CDATA[WZO Settlements Division Back With Netanyahu &#8211; International Middle East Media&nbsp;Center]]></title><type><![CDATA[link]]></type><html><![CDATA[<p><span class="article-details"><span class="article-detail">Wednesday January 19, 2011 12:35</span><span class="article-detail"> by IMEMC News &#8211; 1 of International Middle East Media Center Editorial Group</span></span></p>
<blockquote class="article-intro"><p><strong>The World Zionist Organisation&#8217;s (WZO)  Settlements Division is again under the control of the Israeli Prime  Minister&#8217;s Office after a period of nearly four years with the  Agriculture Ministry.</strong></p></blockquote>
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<p class="article">The  Jerusalem Post reports that one of the first decisions made by the  newly-configured coalition government was to return the WZO’s Settlement  Division to the Prime Minister’s Office. The move is part of the  coalition’s agreement with the newly-formed Independence faction led by  Defense Minister Ehud Barak although it was done at the request of  Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman</p>
<p>In 2007 it was moved from the Prime Minister’s Office to the Labour-led  Agriculture Ministry during the tenure of former prime minister Ehud  Olmert. The move was a technical one, since the government controls the  division’s budget, but at the time it was believed that the shift to a  Labour-led ministry would help shift the division’s focus from the West  Bank to the Negev and the Galilee</p>
<p>While the division is technically part of a non-governmental agency, the  WZO, it has been contracted for decades to execute government- funded  projects in occupied Palestinian territory.</p>
<p>The move has been welcomed by settler groups and right-wing politicians  who are hopeful that the return to the Prime Minister’s Office will push  the division’s focus back to the settlements.</p>
<p>“It’s a positive development,” said Dani Dayan, who heads the Council  of Jewish Communities of Judea, Samaria (West Bank) and the Gaza Strip.</p>
<p>Likud MK Danny Danon told The Jerusalem Post that he hoped it would  remove some of the bureaucratic problems that had made it difficult for  the settlements to receive funding.</p>
<p>Settlements built over the Green Line in occupied territory are illegal  according to international law and are seen as a major obstacle to peace  between Israel and the Palestinians.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.imemc.org/article/60455">WZO Settlements Division Back With Netanyahu &#8211; International Middle East Media Center</a>.</p>
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