AI
Thursday, August 20, 2009 3:18:01 AM
Despite rhetoric, Netanyahu has suspended Jewish settlement building.
.. fingers .. legs .. eyes .. arms .. toes .. XXXXXXed .. "i"s dotted, too
Imagine - John Lennon
Israel's prime minister has defended such projects in the West Bank. But officials say he is also
quietly seeking a compromise that would facilitate a revival of peace talks with Palestinians.
A Palestinian on a bus turns her attention to Israeli protesters defending
Jewish settlement construction in East Jerusalem. Palestinians have
refused to restart peace negotiations without a freeze on such housing.
(Jim Hollander / European Pressphoto Agency / August 17, 2009)
By Richard Boudreaux
August 19, 2009
Reporting from Jerusalem - Cameras were rolling, capturing the defiant
Israeli mood over President Obama's stand on Jewish settlements.
With three other Cabinet officials at his side, Interior Minister Eli Yishai toured a Jewish
outpost in the West Bank on Monday and declared: "Israel must do what it believes is right, and the
Americans will understand that there was no choice but to continue building" on Palestinian-claimed land.
That evening, as former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee attended a dinner in support of a Jewish housing
project in predominantly Arab East Jerusalem, an Israeli demonstrator unfurled a banner portraying
Obama in a checkered Palestinian kaffiyeh. "Barack Hussein Obama -- Anti Semite Jew-Hater," it read.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has exploited such sentiment to depict Washington's opposition
to settlement growth as unreasonable. But Israeli officials say he is also seeking a compromise that
would limit the growth and facilitate Obama's goal of restarting Israeli-Palestinian peace talks.
Several officials said Tuesday that Netanyahu, Defense Minister Ehud Barak and Housing Minister
Ariel Atias had quietly agreed to suspend all government tenders to build new Jewish
housing in the West Bank and East Jerusalem at least until the start of next year.
The government and its critics acknowledge that there has been no green light for construction bids since
November and that Netanyahu, after taking office on March 31, allowed the de facto suspension to continue.
One official said the recent decision, which was not announced, makes the suspension explicit in
advance of a new round of talks set for next week between Netanyahu and U.S. envoy George J. Mitchell.
"The fact is, we are in a holding pattern," Atias told Israel Radio. "This is an attempt, I believe, to reach
an understanding with the American administration, to reach a comprehensive peace agreement."
Israel's move falls short of the total freeze the Obama administration initially sought. At the same
time, it has provoked an outcry within Netanyahu's conservative-led government, highlighting
the difficulty of ending Israel's most pointed disagreement in years with the United States.
Obama said Tuesday that he was nonetheless encouraged.
"There has been movement in the right direction," he told reporters at the White House after
talks with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. Israel "has taken discussions with us very seriously."
Obama said he expected Palestinians to improve the climate for renewed negotiations, such as by ending
incitement of violence against the Jewish state. The latest round of U.S.-brokered peace talks collapsed late last year.
In resisting a settlement freeze, Netanyahu and his aides have complained that the Obama administration is putting undue
emphasis on such a step and not enough pressure on the Palestinians, who have refused to renew the talks without one.
Huckabee and other visiting Republicans have sharpened the divide, accusing the Obama administration of undermining Israel.
After the State Department objected last month to a planned Jewish housing project in East Jerusalem, Netanyahu declared, "We cannot accept the idea that Jews will not have the right to live and purchase [homes] anywhere in Jerusalem." His popularity at home rose among Jews throughout Israel as well as the estimated 300,000 who live in West Bank settlements that most of the world views as illegal.
At the same time, Netanyahu and his aides have been quietly
negotiating terms of a settlement freeze with U.S. representatives led by Mitchell.
In doing so, the Israeli leader is reattempting the failed balancing act of his previous stint as prime minister,
in the late 1990s. After positioning himself as a hard-liner then, he yielded to U.S. pressure and gave up partial
control of the West Bank city of Hebron to the Palestinians. Right-wing allies defected, bringing down his government.
"We're seeing the same gap between rhetoric and reality today," said Hagit Ofran, an activist for Peace
Now, an Israeli organization that monitors and opposes settlements. "The government insists that Israel
must build here and there. In fact, there's a limited freeze. It's not enough, but it's a good sign."
A senior Israeli official said Netanyahu was moving toward a compromise with Mitchell that, during the freeze
on new projects, would allow completion of existing work in large settlements that Israel expects to keep
in a final peace treaty. The official said he expected agreement on terms of a freeze by October.
"The idea is to find a modus vivendi to alleviate any concerns the Palestinians have but also to allow a normal
life for the people" in the settlements, he said. "I think we can find a way that is credible and workable."
Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat dismissed the freeze on tenders as a "play on words"
that will not stop construction of 2,500 Jewish homes he said is underway in the West Bank.
Peace Now put the number of settlement homes under construction at 1,000. It said private construction by settler
groups accounted for 60% of building in the West Bank and would not be halted by a freeze of government tenders.
Even so, right-wing reaction to the freeze was furious and pointed to disarray in the government.
"Once again we elected Netanyahu and got the old Bibi," said a statement by the Binyamin
Settlers Committee, using the prime minister's nickname. "The one who talks passionately
about the rock of our resistance but capitulates in the face of American pressure."
"Israel is not a satellite of the United States," declared Daniel Hershkowitz, the minister of science and technology.
Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon objected to the freeze, noting its lack of full Cabinet approval.
Asked about dissenting voices in the government, Atias, the housing minister,
told Israel Radio: "Who am I to criticize other ministers? Everyone has his own view."
He added: "The prime minister is acting wisely about one thing. He's not trying to clash with the Americans."
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-israel-settlements19-2009aug19,0,717563.story
.. fingers .. legs .. eyes .. arms .. toes .. XXXXXXed .. "i"s dotted, too
Imagine - John Lennon
Israel's prime minister has defended such projects in the West Bank. But officials say he is also
quietly seeking a compromise that would facilitate a revival of peace talks with Palestinians.
A Palestinian on a bus turns her attention to Israeli protesters defending
Jewish settlement construction in East Jerusalem. Palestinians have
refused to restart peace negotiations without a freeze on such housing.
(Jim Hollander / European Pressphoto Agency / August 17, 2009)
By Richard Boudreaux
August 19, 2009
Reporting from Jerusalem - Cameras were rolling, capturing the defiant
Israeli mood over President Obama's stand on Jewish settlements.
With three other Cabinet officials at his side, Interior Minister Eli Yishai toured a Jewish
outpost in the West Bank on Monday and declared: "Israel must do what it believes is right, and the
Americans will understand that there was no choice but to continue building" on Palestinian-claimed land.
That evening, as former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee attended a dinner in support of a Jewish housing
project in predominantly Arab East Jerusalem, an Israeli demonstrator unfurled a banner portraying
Obama in a checkered Palestinian kaffiyeh. "Barack Hussein Obama -- Anti Semite Jew-Hater," it read.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has exploited such sentiment to depict Washington's opposition
to settlement growth as unreasonable. But Israeli officials say he is also seeking a compromise that
would limit the growth and facilitate Obama's goal of restarting Israeli-Palestinian peace talks.
Several officials said Tuesday that Netanyahu, Defense Minister Ehud Barak and Housing Minister
Ariel Atias had quietly agreed to suspend all government tenders to build new Jewish
housing in the West Bank and East Jerusalem at least until the start of next year.
The government and its critics acknowledge that there has been no green light for construction bids since
November and that Netanyahu, after taking office on March 31, allowed the de facto suspension to continue.
One official said the recent decision, which was not announced, makes the suspension explicit in
advance of a new round of talks set for next week between Netanyahu and U.S. envoy George J. Mitchell.
"The fact is, we are in a holding pattern," Atias told Israel Radio. "This is an attempt, I believe, to reach
an understanding with the American administration, to reach a comprehensive peace agreement."
Israel's move falls short of the total freeze the Obama administration initially sought. At the same
time, it has provoked an outcry within Netanyahu's conservative-led government, highlighting
the difficulty of ending Israel's most pointed disagreement in years with the United States.
Obama said Tuesday that he was nonetheless encouraged.
"There has been movement in the right direction," he told reporters at the White House after
talks with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. Israel "has taken discussions with us very seriously."
Obama said he expected Palestinians to improve the climate for renewed negotiations, such as by ending
incitement of violence against the Jewish state. The latest round of U.S.-brokered peace talks collapsed late last year.
In resisting a settlement freeze, Netanyahu and his aides have complained that the Obama administration is putting undue
emphasis on such a step and not enough pressure on the Palestinians, who have refused to renew the talks without one.
Huckabee and other visiting Republicans have sharpened the divide, accusing the Obama administration of undermining Israel.
After the State Department objected last month to a planned Jewish housing project in East Jerusalem, Netanyahu declared, "We cannot accept the idea that Jews will not have the right to live and purchase [homes] anywhere in Jerusalem." His popularity at home rose among Jews throughout Israel as well as the estimated 300,000 who live in West Bank settlements that most of the world views as illegal.
At the same time, Netanyahu and his aides have been quietly
negotiating terms of a settlement freeze with U.S. representatives led by Mitchell.
In doing so, the Israeli leader is reattempting the failed balancing act of his previous stint as prime minister,
in the late 1990s. After positioning himself as a hard-liner then, he yielded to U.S. pressure and gave up partial
control of the West Bank city of Hebron to the Palestinians. Right-wing allies defected, bringing down his government.
"We're seeing the same gap between rhetoric and reality today," said Hagit Ofran, an activist for Peace
Now, an Israeli organization that monitors and opposes settlements. "The government insists that Israel
must build here and there. In fact, there's a limited freeze. It's not enough, but it's a good sign."
A senior Israeli official said Netanyahu was moving toward a compromise with Mitchell that, during the freeze
on new projects, would allow completion of existing work in large settlements that Israel expects to keep
in a final peace treaty. The official said he expected agreement on terms of a freeze by October.
"The idea is to find a modus vivendi to alleviate any concerns the Palestinians have but also to allow a normal
life for the people" in the settlements, he said. "I think we can find a way that is credible and workable."
Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat dismissed the freeze on tenders as a "play on words"
that will not stop construction of 2,500 Jewish homes he said is underway in the West Bank.
Peace Now put the number of settlement homes under construction at 1,000. It said private construction by settler
groups accounted for 60% of building in the West Bank and would not be halted by a freeze of government tenders.
Even so, right-wing reaction to the freeze was furious and pointed to disarray in the government.
"Once again we elected Netanyahu and got the old Bibi," said a statement by the Binyamin
Settlers Committee, using the prime minister's nickname. "The one who talks passionately
about the rock of our resistance but capitulates in the face of American pressure."
"Israel is not a satellite of the United States," declared Daniel Hershkowitz, the minister of science and technology.
Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon objected to the freeze, noting its lack of full Cabinet approval.
Asked about dissenting voices in the government, Atias, the housing minister,
told Israel Radio: "Who am I to criticize other ministers? Everyone has his own view."
He added: "The prime minister is acting wisely about one thing. He's not trying to clash with the Americans."
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-israel-settlements19-2009aug19,0,717563.story
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