Robert Bandanza
September 6th, 2009, 09:45 AM
06/09/2009 Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will soon authorize hundreds of new units to be built in the occupied West Bank despite US calls for a settlement freeze, a senior minister said on Sunday.
"The prime minister will announce in the coming days the construction of several hundred additional homes and public buildings," Transport Minister Yisrael Katz, a close ally of the hawkish premier, told public radio.
Netanyahu plans to authorize between 400 and 600 housing units, according to Israeli media.
The announcement sparked widespread criticism from the international community and outrage from the Palestinians, who called it "unacceptable."
Israel's main ally Washington, which has for months been demanding that the zionist state freeze all settlement activity in order to kick-start the stalled Middle East process, said it regretted the plans.
Ministers attending the weekly government meeting Sunday said they supported Netanyahu's approval of settlement building plans prior to a scheduled freeze in construction.
But National Infrastructure Minister Uzi Landau said he was against the freeze. "The decision to freeze opposes natural justice and harms human rights. There is no political wisdom in it...The Arab and Palestinian refusal to cooperate has just intensified. A move intended to bring about an improvement in atmosphere has finally only brought on the intensification of pressure, so we need to be very cautious," he said.
Tourism Minister Stas Misezhnikov, who like Landau belongs to Yisrael Beiteinu, said such approval may strengthen Israel’s position when negotiating with the Americans. "The prime minister is not afraid of anyone, and he needs to be strengthened in all negotiations with the Americans," he said.
Shas Chairman Eli Yishai called the construction plans a "strategic pause", and said that "Abbas cannot bring peace, as he has already proven in the past when Olmert gave him nearly everything".
"What the Israeli government said [about the planned construction] is not useful," PA chief Mahmoud Abbas said after meeting with French President Nicolas Sarkozy Friday. "It is unacceptable to us. We want a freeze on all settlement construction."
Senior Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat also criticized the move, saying it would derail any progress in peace negotiations.
"I think the only thing that will be suspended by this announcement is the peace process," Erekat said.
A Palestinian Authority official said his government would consider asking the EU for sanctions against Israel.
European Union foreign ministers, meeting in Stockholm on Friday, criticized the decision.
"The position of the European Union is well known. All settlement activities must stop," Javier Solana, the outgoing EU foreign policy chief was quoted as saying.
Britain, Italy and France also criticized Netanyahu’s move saying it will not serve Middle East Efforts.
Meanwhile, settlers are planning to step up their protests against the construction freeze, irrespective of Netanyahu's announcement.
"The construction will probably take place to the east of the fence," according to Danny Dayan, chairman of the Yesha Council.
"A freeze has enormous political implications which are no less than a catastrophe for the settlement enterprise. Freezing construction in Ma'aleh Adumim, Gush Etzion, Beitar, what are called the 'settlement blocs,' places them clearly on the negotiating table. Why would the state freeze construction in areas that are not open for negotiation? There is nothing that signals to the Arabs that it is possible to restore them to the 1967 border than such a freeze," Dayan said.
http://www.almanar.com.lb/newssite/NewsDetails.aspx?id=102177&language=en
"The prime minister will announce in the coming days the construction of several hundred additional homes and public buildings," Transport Minister Yisrael Katz, a close ally of the hawkish premier, told public radio.
Netanyahu plans to authorize between 400 and 600 housing units, according to Israeli media.
The announcement sparked widespread criticism from the international community and outrage from the Palestinians, who called it "unacceptable."
Israel's main ally Washington, which has for months been demanding that the zionist state freeze all settlement activity in order to kick-start the stalled Middle East process, said it regretted the plans.
Ministers attending the weekly government meeting Sunday said they supported Netanyahu's approval of settlement building plans prior to a scheduled freeze in construction.
But National Infrastructure Minister Uzi Landau said he was against the freeze. "The decision to freeze opposes natural justice and harms human rights. There is no political wisdom in it...The Arab and Palestinian refusal to cooperate has just intensified. A move intended to bring about an improvement in atmosphere has finally only brought on the intensification of pressure, so we need to be very cautious," he said.
Tourism Minister Stas Misezhnikov, who like Landau belongs to Yisrael Beiteinu, said such approval may strengthen Israel’s position when negotiating with the Americans. "The prime minister is not afraid of anyone, and he needs to be strengthened in all negotiations with the Americans," he said.
Shas Chairman Eli Yishai called the construction plans a "strategic pause", and said that "Abbas cannot bring peace, as he has already proven in the past when Olmert gave him nearly everything".
"What the Israeli government said [about the planned construction] is not useful," PA chief Mahmoud Abbas said after meeting with French President Nicolas Sarkozy Friday. "It is unacceptable to us. We want a freeze on all settlement construction."
Senior Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat also criticized the move, saying it would derail any progress in peace negotiations.
"I think the only thing that will be suspended by this announcement is the peace process," Erekat said.
A Palestinian Authority official said his government would consider asking the EU for sanctions against Israel.
European Union foreign ministers, meeting in Stockholm on Friday, criticized the decision.
"The position of the European Union is well known. All settlement activities must stop," Javier Solana, the outgoing EU foreign policy chief was quoted as saying.
Britain, Italy and France also criticized Netanyahu’s move saying it will not serve Middle East Efforts.
Meanwhile, settlers are planning to step up their protests against the construction freeze, irrespective of Netanyahu's announcement.
"The construction will probably take place to the east of the fence," according to Danny Dayan, chairman of the Yesha Council.
"A freeze has enormous political implications which are no less than a catastrophe for the settlement enterprise. Freezing construction in Ma'aleh Adumim, Gush Etzion, Beitar, what are called the 'settlement blocs,' places them clearly on the negotiating table. Why would the state freeze construction in areas that are not open for negotiation? There is nothing that signals to the Arabs that it is possible to restore them to the 1967 border than such a freeze," Dayan said.
http://www.almanar.com.lb/newssite/NewsDetails.aspx?id=102177&language=en