Tuesday 21 July 2009

Russia, France, EU up Pressure on Israel to Halt E. J'lem Building




Russia, France, EU up Pressure on Israel to Halt E. J'lem Building
Hanan Awarekeh

21/07/2009 It seems that the diplomatic pressure on Israel is growing day after day over its building project in the annexed Arab quarter of occupied east Jerusalem, yet the Zionist entity continues to defy the international calls and go on building its illegal settlements at the expense of the Palestinian people and their right to live in their own land and homes.

One day after the United States demanded that Israel stop building projects in occupied east Jerusalem, Russia joined the call, urging the Zionist entity to immediately halt construction in the area, and saying that a failure to do so would be a violation of the so-called “road map peace agreement”.

The US, Russia have demanded that Israel suspend a planned housing project on the grounds of the hotel in occupied east Jerusalem. "The settlement should be stopped immediately in line with the road map," AFP quoted Russian foreign ministry spokesman Andrei Nesterenko as saying, in reference to a plan to build 20 housing units in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood in occupied east Jerusalem, near Mount Scopus and the National Police headquarters.

French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner was also quoted by the news agency as saying on Tuesday that France summoned the Israeli ambassador in Paris to demand a halt to the building in occupied east Jerusalem.

Earlier Tuesday, Israeli Intelligence Minister Dan Meridor expressed, for the first time, a formal government endorsement of the "road map" formula for Palestinian statehood. In addition, he noted that Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu had committed Israel to honoring all previous international agreements, and stressed that the “road map” was one of those agreements binding on the government.

Moreover, the Swedish presidency of the European Union said that Israel should avoid provocative actions in occupied east Jerusalem. "The Presidency of the European Union urges Israel to refrain from provocative actions in East Jerusalem, including home demolitions and evictions, as stated also by the Quartet 26 June 2009," said the statement. "Such actions are illegal under international law," it added.

“The Middle East quartet” - the European Union, Russia, the United Nations and the United States - called on Israel to halt West Bank settlements at a meeting in the Italian city of Trieste last month.

The EU was concerned at the latest in a series of eviction orders issued to families in occupied East Jerusalem, the statement continued. "We have raised our concerns with the Israeli government and call on Israel to suspend these eviction notices immediately..." it added.

On Monday, US State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley confirmed that a new housing development in occupied east Jerusalem had been a topic of conversation last week during a meeting between senior US diplomats and Israel's ambassador to the United States, Michael Oren.

Crowley said US opposition to construction in occupied east Jerusalem and settlements in the West Bank had not changed.

Crowley added that "we are concerned that unilateral actions taken by the Israelis or the Palestinians cannot prejudge the outcome of these negotiations."

Israel has repeatedly resisted pressure from the United States and other major powers over its settlement program on the occupied West Bank, one of the main obstacles to the “Middle East peace process” with the Palestinians.

Meanwhile, Israel rejected calls from the United States, the European Union and Russia to freeze its settlements.

On Sunday, responding to the reports that Washington had asked Israel not to build the 20 housing units, Netanyahu declared that Israel would not bar Jews from buying apartments in occupied east Jerusalem.

Netanyahu: Jerusalem not included in debate over settlement activity

[ 21/07/2009 - 08:29 AM ]

OCCUPIED JERUSALEM, (PIC)-- Israeli premier Benjamin Netanyahu has expressed surprise at the US request for an end to construction works in Sheikh Jarrah suburb in occupied Jerusalem.

Netanyahu told a closed consultative council session for his cabinet that he explained to US president Barack Obama during a recent meeting in Washington that Israel considers Jerusalem as not included in the debate over settlement activity.

He said that Jewish inhabitants of Jerusalem could buy apartments in any place in the holy city.

For her part, American secretary of state Hillary Clinton said that the American administration was seeking an agreement with Israel over the settlement construction and expansion issue.

Israel Presses on with Settlement Paln




Omar Karmi, Foreign Correspondent

Last Updated: July 20. 2009 1:12AM UAE / July 19. 2009

JERUSALEM // Israel yesterday refused to halt a settlement project in East Jerusalem, rejecting US pressure to include such construction in the eastern part of the city as part of a general freeze on settlement building in occupied territory.

Washington’s public challenge to Israel on settlement construction in East Jerusalem has set the two sides firmly at opposite poles, and analysts describe the issue as a crucial test of the Obama administration’s intentions vis-à-vis the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

The US state department took the unusual step over the weekend of summoning Michael Oren, the Israeli ambassador to the US, to tell him that Washington does not want the housing project – 20 units in the Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood being developed by American Jewish millionaire Irving Moskowitz – to go ahead.

Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, yesterday rejected the American request out of hand, saying Israeli rule over East Jerusalem was not negotiable.

“We cannot accept the idea that Jews will not have the right to live and buy anywhere in Jerusalem,” Mr Netanyahu said, referring to the city as the “united capital” of Israel.

Saeb Erekat, the chief Palestinian negotiator, dismissed Mr Netanyahu’s comments and said the Israeli prime minister understands that a peace agreement is only possible with East Jerusalem as the capital of Palestine, and that settlements and negotiations “cannot go together”.

Israel annexed the eastern part of Jerusalem after capturing it in the 1967 war. The annexation has not been recognised internationally and Israel’s claim to sovereignty over all of Jerusalem violates international law, which forbids states from acquiring territory in war.

The idea of a unified Jerusalem has broad popular appeal in Israel, and there is cross-party consensus on maintaining Israeli sovereignty over the entire city, making the issue one of the thorniest in peace negotiations with the Palestinians, who see East Jerusalem as part of the occupied West Bank and the future capital of any Palestinian state.

The US has traditionally toed the international line on Jerusalem by not recognising Israel’s annexation. At the same time, Washington has turned a blind eye to Israeli settlement building in East Jerusalem, some of which, like the Sheikh Jarrah project now in question, is financed by US investors.

In fact, the US Congress, in which there is overwhelming bipartisan support for Israel including for its claim to an undivided Jerusalem, has for years tried to pressure successive administrations to move the US Embassy in West Jerusalem to East Jerusalem. Such a move would clearly signal US acceptance of Israel’s claim to sovereignty over the whole city, and every year presidents have to sign a waiver postponing any decision on the embassy move.

Thus, the latest move by the Obama administration seems to signal an abrupt departure from Washington’s normally hands-off approach to East Jerusalem. As such, say analysts, it is a significant development.

“This is the first time in 20 years that we have a US administration willing to go public with its disputes with Israel,” said George Giacaman, a Palestinian commentator, who teaches at Birzeit University in Ramallah.

The question, said Mr Giacaman, given the Israeli government’s vehement rejection of ending its settlement construction in East Jerusalem, is how far Washington is prepared to go to pressure Israel.

“It is an important test for the Obama administration, to see if it can bring about enough pressure to stop settlement building in East Jerusalem. I think the US will have to take some concrete action, and the extreme right-wing Israeli coalition will find it very hard to yield to any pressure on Jerusalem,” he added.

Mr Giacaman suggested that there is a “wide range” of areas the US could look at to put pressure on Israel, from refraining from vetoing UN Security Council resolutions on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict to downgrading some aspects of US-Israel relations.

The mere fact, however, that the Obama administration was willing to publicly challenge Israel on settlement building in Jerusalem suggested that the US had already prepared further steps to pressure Israel, said Hillel Schenker, an Israeli journalist.

“I believe that the US is going to make a very serious effort to move this process forward,” said Mr Schenker, referring to Palestinian-Israeli negotiations. In order to do that, he said, the US and the international community would have to be “forceful” with Israel and he expected that other international actors would now feel more “assertive” in light of the US position.

“I think this administration is resolved to pursue a very different approach [than] former administrations and I think it has a level of determination and sophistication that we haven’t seen before in dealing with domestic opposition from Congress and pro-Israel groups in the US,” Mr Schenker said.

By taking the public step of summoning the Israeli ambassador, the US administration would have been aware of the kind of opposition it would likely meet, both in Israel and domestically. This may signal that the White House is confident it can successfully pressure Israel on the issue of settlements, which also divides American supporters of Israel, and may expect the Israeli ruling coalition to either yield to US pressure or break apart.

One potential problem for the US strategy is that Israel’s biggest party, Kadima, which leads the Israeli opposition and which might step into a new governing coalition should the current one fall, is also opposed to linking the issue of East Jerusalem with occupied territory in general and would therefore also likely resist any attempt to halt settlement construction there.

Certainly Ehud Olmert, the former head of Kadima, was particularly active in sanctioning settlement construction in East Jerusalem, both in his tenure as prime minister and when he was mayor of Jerusalem.

Another problem is that with Israel firmly opposed to halting its settlement construction in East Jerusalem, Washington’s latest effort may only have the effect of instead spurring further construction as an act of defiance, thus forcing Washington to show its hand.

Should the Obama administration consider taking any practical steps to increase its pressure on Israel, it will be headed for a serious confrontation not only with Israel, but with the US Congress and the powerful and vocal pro-Israel lobbying groups in Washington.

Source: The National
okarmi@thenational.ae

July 20, 2009 Posted by Elias

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