[Peace-discuss] The Prospects for Peace in the Middle East

[David Green]

w w w . h a a r e t z . c o m
http://www.haaretz. com/hasen/ spages/970234. html

31/03/2008
Peace Now: Momentum for Jewish construction in E. J'lem 'unprecedented'

By Nadav Shragai

Peace Now accused the government of stepping up Jewish construction 
in East Jerusalem at an unprecedented rate, in a report released Monday.

"In the last two months, an unprecedented momentum has been noted in 
the Jewish neighborhoods in East Jerusalem, with the intentions of 
expanding deep into Palestinian territories east of the Green Line," 
said the report.

According to the report, since the Annapolis Summit last November, 
tenders have been made for the construction of 750 housing units in 
East Jerusalem, compared to two tenders for 46 units in 2007.

The construction comes despite the recently revived peace process and 
Barak's pledge to ease conditions for Palestinians in the West Bank.

New home for ex-Gaza settlers: Deep in W.Bank

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert recently approved the construction of the 
48 new apartments in Ariel, deep inside the northern West Bank.

Last week, Olmert told foreign correspondents that Israel is not 
building in the territories outside the settlement blocs. Ariel has 
been considered a settlement bloc by all Israeli governments, but the 
United States refuses to recognize it as such.

Because of Washington's objections, Ariel Mayor Ron Nahman used to 
complain that former defense minister Amir Peretz consistently 
refused all his requests for permission to build new housing in the 
city. But Peretz's successor in the ministry, Ehud Barak, ended the 
freeze.

Barak's office said in a statement that the new construction was 
meant to allow evacuated Gaza settlers, who had relocated to Ariel 
with the government's consent, to move from temporary to permanent 
housing.

Last week, Haaretz reported that Barak also approved bringing five 
trailer homes to the settlement of Tene Omarim to house evacuated 
Gaza settlers. That settlement is located east of the separation 
fence, meaning that Israel almost certainly does not intend to keep 
it under any future agreement.
PM to Shas: I'll authorize construction in Arab areas around Jerusalem

By Nadav Shragai, Haaretz Correspondent and Haaretz Service

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on Monday promised the spiritual leader of 
the Shas Party, Rabbi Ovadiah Yosef, that he will authorize 
construction on "Jerusalem envelope" lands which have been thus far 
frozen.

"The Prime Minister promised Rabbi [Yosef] unequivocally that the 
construction in all the Jerusalem envelope communities will not be 
hindered and will be unfrozen without delay," sources from the ultra- 
Orthodox Shas Party said.

The sources added that the rabbi had made clear to Olmert "with 
conviction" that the issue of construction in the ultra-Orthodox 
towns in Arab areas surrounding Jerusalem "are Shas' top priority," 
and that he will ask party chairman Eli Yishai to continue updating 
him on the matter.

During an earlier Kadima faction meeting at the Knesset on Monday, 
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert denied a report by the Peace Now movement 
claiming that Israeli construction in the West Bank had been stepped up.

"All the reports of dramatic construction projects in the 
[Palestinian] territories are not true, and it's not true that we're 
building in violation of commitments that were made," Olmert told a 
meeting of his Kadima Party.

Olmert also said Israel would continue to build in East Jerusalem and in
heavily Jewish areas of the West Bank that Israel wants to keep in a 
final peace agreement.

"This is going on within the framework of negotiations, and the 
negotiations will continue to progress," he said.

Meanwhile, the Yesha Council of Settlements said Monday it would 
continue to build in West Bank settlements, even without the 
necessary government authorizations.

"Whoever thinks that an administrative step can smother the 
settlement enterprise and prevent it from flourishing is mistaken," 
said a Yesha council statement. "Either the government will approve 
construction in the settlements, or the natural development of the 
settlements will continue to grow, even without government permits."

The statement came in response to a Peace Now report released Monday 
that noted expansion in 101 West Bank settlements, including at least 
500 buildings, each containing dozens of apartments.

The report, which summarizes the first quarter of 2008, also found 
that Defense Minister Ehud Barak recently approved a plan to 
construct at least 969 housing units in settlements - 750 in the Agan 
Ayalon neighborhood of Givat Ze'ev and 48 in Ariel.

The report also notes that at least 184 new caravans have bee 
installed in West Bank settlements, at least 83 percent of them east 
of the separation fence.

       
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