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A large number of Afghans have staged a rally in the eastern city of Jalalabad to show their opposition to a possible security deal with the United States. Protesters say American forces are responsible for the deaths of many civilians in their country. Demonstrators also called on the participants of the Loya Jirga to reject a possible agreement. The Jirga is a gathering of elders from across Afghanistan which will decide on the fate of the deal next week. The deal between Kabul and Washington will allow thousands of American troops to stay in Afghanistan beyond 20-14. The issue of whether or not to grant legal immunity to American forces remains a sticking point.

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Israel FM vows to block settlement halt Israel's Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman says his far right Yisrael Beitenu party will block any attempt to extend Tel Aviv's 10-month settlement freeze. "There is no need to extend the freeze," Lieberman said in an interview with Israeli Army Radio on Monday, AFP reported. "Yisrael Beitenu has enough power in the government and in parliament to ensure that no such proposal succeeds," he warned. In November, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced a 10-month freeze on illegal settlement expansion projects in the occupied West Bank. The moratorium, however, excluded construction plans in the Israeli-annexed East al-Quds (Jerusalem) and what Tel Aviv called 'community centers.' Lieberman's remarks come amid US-backed direct negotiations between the Palestinian Authority (PA) and Israel in Washington and the PA's repeated warnings that Tel Aviv's insistence on settlement expansion could derail the talks. Lieberman's Yisrael Beitenu party is the second largest faction in the governing coalition after Netanyahu's right-wing Likud party, which also opposes any extension. Lieberman has already poured cold water on the latest round of talks, saying he did not expect the controversial negotiations to be fruitful. "I do not believe that a comprehensive agreement with the Palestinians is possible within a year, nor even during the next generation," he told a party gathering on Sunday. The latest round of Israeli-PA discussions started on September 2, nearly 20 months after the talks broke off in the wake of Israel's December 2008 offensive against the Gaza Strip. Hosting the talks in Washington, US President Barack Obama has set the ambitious goal of reaching a deal within a year. Tel Aviv insists that the issue of Israeli settlements, seen as the main obstacle in the way to peace in the Middle East, should be discussed alongside other core disputes, including the final status of al-Quds and the fate of thousands of Palestinian refugees.

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Hundreds of Afghan people including students, have held demonstrations in the eastern province of Nangarhar against a possible security pact with the US. The protesters chanted anti-US slogans and blocked a key road between Kabul and the city of Jalalabad. They warned the Afghan elders and politicians against signing the deal, saying they do not represent the Afghan people. Afghanistan\'s grand assembly or Loya Jirga is slated to hold discussions on the controversial deal on Thursday. Meanwhile, scores of people gathered for a meeting in Kabul to voice their opposition to any deal that will prolong the US military presence in their country.