"Israel" building settlements, settlements and more settlements on a peace charade
Source: Agencies, 8-12-2007
"Israeli" ministers are mulling a proposal that would allow a "massive" expansion of Zionist settlements in the West Bank and retroactively legalize dozens of settler outposts, said a former "Israeli" state attorney who oversaw a government study on Jewish (Zionist) building in the disputed territory.
Meanwhile, Strategic Affairs Minister Avigdor Lieberman, a deputy premier, speaking on public television on construction of Jewish (Zionist) settlements in east 'Jerusalem' (al-Quds) said: "construction will continue at full flow, and our friends must be told this". In reference to criticism made earlier by US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.
Referring to last week's Middle East peace conference, Rice on Friday criticised the decision.
"I made it clear that we are in a time when the goal is to build maximum confidence with the parties," she told a news conference in Brussels. "This is not going to build that confidence."
On Tuesday "Israel" said it had invited bids to build more than 300 new housing units at Har Homa in annexed east 'Jerusalem' (al-Quds), the first settlement expansion since the revival of peace talks with the Palestinians.
"It is clear to the whole world that Har Homa is an integral part of 'Israel' and that Har Homa will remain an integral part of 'Jerusalem' (al-Quds)," Lieberman added.
Just last month, "Israeli" Prime Minister Ehud Olmert recommitted "Israel" to peace process confidence-building measures that include curtailing settlement activity.
The decision to build the new homes has been slammed by the Palestinians as an attempt to undermine the renewed peace drive officially launched after a seven-year hiatus at the US-hosted talks last week.
It was taken after the meeting, where Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas and "Israeli" Prime Minister Ehid Olmert agreed to try to reach an accord before the end of 2008 that would allow creation of a Palestinian state.
They also pledged to implement the 2003 roadmap plan, the first phase of which calls on "Israel" to freeze all settlement activity and for Palestinians to improve security.
Talia Sasson, a former state attorney who authored a critical report on the outposts for the government in 2005, said the proposal before the ministers amounts to a breach of "Israel's" promise to remove all of the unauthorized hilltop outposts after March 2001.
"The proposal, if accepted, would constitute a clear and unequivocal violation of [the] commitment of 'Israel's' Prime Minister to the President of the United States regarding the illegal outposts in the West Bank and expansion of existing settlements," Ms. Sasson wrote in a letter to the Justice Ministry and Cabinet ministers.
Under the proposal, any decision on the establishment or expansion of settlements would require Cabinet approval unless the building plans are "reasonable" or at "the edge" of existing settlements, or are contained in existing master plans.
Ms. Sasson warned that those loopholes would be exploited to enable settlement expansion as the rule rather than the exception.
Both the letter and the draft proposal were made public by "Israel's" Channel 10 television news.
The Justice Ministry refused to comment, calling the proposal an internal document that could be revised by Cabinet ministers.
Even though the U.S. had backed a so called peace plan titled the "road map", whose revival was attempted last month at Annapolis summit, calls for a freeze on settlements, yet settlers continue their expansionist work unabated.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon also said on Thursday that the "Israeli" decision to expand Har Homa, known to Palestinians as Jebel Abu Ghneim, was "not helpful" so soon after the conference held at Annapolis near Washington.
"Israel" does not consider construction in east 'Jerusalem' (al-Quds) -- which it captured in the 1967 Six-Day War -- as settlement growth because it annexed the Palestinian eastern sector of the Holy City shortly after the conflict.
Its decision to do so was never recognised internationally and the Palestinians consider east 'Jerusalem' (al-Quds) the capital of their future state.
Despite commitments from "Israeli" prime ministers over the past 15 years, the number of settlers has more than doubled to about 250,000 today.
"Israeli" ministers are mulling a proposal that would allow a "massive" expansion of Zionist settlements in the West Bank and retroactively legalize dozens of settler outposts, said a former "Israeli" state attorney who oversaw a government study on Jewish (Zionist) building in the disputed territory.
Meanwhile, Strategic Affairs Minister Avigdor Lieberman, a deputy premier, speaking on public television on construction of Jewish (Zionist) settlements in east 'Jerusalem' (al-Quds) said: "construction will continue at full flow, and our friends must be told this". In reference to criticism made earlier by US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.
Referring to last week's Middle East peace conference, Rice on Friday criticised the decision.
"I made it clear that we are in a time when the goal is to build maximum confidence with the parties," she told a news conference in Brussels. "This is not going to build that confidence."
On Tuesday "Israel" said it had invited bids to build more than 300 new housing units at Har Homa in annexed east 'Jerusalem' (al-Quds), the first settlement expansion since the revival of peace talks with the Palestinians.
"It is clear to the whole world that Har Homa is an integral part of 'Israel' and that Har Homa will remain an integral part of 'Jerusalem' (al-Quds)," Lieberman added.
Just last month, "Israeli" Prime Minister Ehud Olmert recommitted "Israel" to peace process confidence-building measures that include curtailing settlement activity.
The decision to build the new homes has been slammed by the Palestinians as an attempt to undermine the renewed peace drive officially launched after a seven-year hiatus at the US-hosted talks last week.
It was taken after the meeting, where Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas and "Israeli" Prime Minister Ehid Olmert agreed to try to reach an accord before the end of 2008 that would allow creation of a Palestinian state.
They also pledged to implement the 2003 roadmap plan, the first phase of which calls on "Israel" to freeze all settlement activity and for Palestinians to improve security.
Talia Sasson, a former state attorney who authored a critical report on the outposts for the government in 2005, said the proposal before the ministers amounts to a breach of "Israel's" promise to remove all of the unauthorized hilltop outposts after March 2001.
"The proposal, if accepted, would constitute a clear and unequivocal violation of [the] commitment of 'Israel's' Prime Minister to the President of the United States regarding the illegal outposts in the West Bank and expansion of existing settlements," Ms. Sasson wrote in a letter to the Justice Ministry and Cabinet ministers.
Under the proposal, any decision on the establishment or expansion of settlements would require Cabinet approval unless the building plans are "reasonable" or at "the edge" of existing settlements, or are contained in existing master plans.
Ms. Sasson warned that those loopholes would be exploited to enable settlement expansion as the rule rather than the exception.
Both the letter and the draft proposal were made public by "Israel's" Channel 10 television news.
The Justice Ministry refused to comment, calling the proposal an internal document that could be revised by Cabinet ministers.
Even though the U.S. had backed a so called peace plan titled the "road map", whose revival was attempted last month at Annapolis summit, calls for a freeze on settlements, yet settlers continue their expansionist work unabated.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon also said on Thursday that the "Israeli" decision to expand Har Homa, known to Palestinians as Jebel Abu Ghneim, was "not helpful" so soon after the conference held at Annapolis near Washington.
"Israel" does not consider construction in east 'Jerusalem' (al-Quds) -- which it captured in the 1967 Six-Day War -- as settlement growth because it annexed the Palestinian eastern sector of the Holy City shortly after the conflict.
Its decision to do so was never recognised internationally and the Palestinians consider east 'Jerusalem' (al-Quds) the capital of their future state.
Despite commitments from "Israeli" prime ministers over the past 15 years, the number of settlers has more than doubled to about 250,000 today.
