Israel-Palestine-US Special: Stakes Raised With Approval of More Settlements

Palestine: Mahmoud Abbas Sticks Around as “President”

Receive our latest updates by email or RSS SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FEED
Buy Us A Cup of Coffee? Help Enduring America Expand Its Coverage and Analysis

On Tuesday, the Jerusalem Municipal Planning Committee approved the construction plan for an additional 900 new housing units beyond the Green Line in Jerusalem.

Washington responded harshly through Press Secretary Robert Gibbs:

We are dismayed at the Jerusalem Planning Committee’s decision to move forward on the approval process for the expansion of Gilo in Jerusalem. At a time when we are working to re-launch negotiations, these actions make it more difficult for our efforts to succeed. Neither party should engage in efforts or take actions that could unilaterally pre-empt, or appear to pre-empt, negotiations. The U.S. also objects to other Israeli practices in Jerusalem related to housing, including the continuing pattern of evictions and demolitions of Palestinian homes. Our position is clear: the status of Jerusalem is a permanent status issue that must be resolved through negotiations between the parties.

US State Department spokesman Ian Kelly repeated that "they were dismayed". However, even more important --- only weeks after Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had praised Israel's "unprecedented" concessions --- was Washington's warning to the Netanyahu Government to withhold support from the Jerusalem committee's move:

QUESTION: On the peace process, Israel has approved today the construction of 900 new housing units in East Jerusalem. How do you view this approval at this specific time?

MR. KELLY: Well, I think, Michel, you’ve heard us say many times that we believe that neither party should engage in any kind of actions that could unilaterally preempt or appear to preempt negotiations. And I think that we find the Jerusalem Planning Committee’s decision to move forward on the approval of the – approval process for the expansion of Gilo in Jerusalem as dismaying.

This is at a time when we’re working to re-launch negotiations, and we believe that these actions make it more difficult for our efforts to succeed. So we object to this, and we object to other Israeli practices in Jerusalem related to housing, including the continuing pattern of evictions and demolitions of Palestinian homes.

And – just to repeat what we’ve said all along, our position on Jerusalem is clear. We believe that the – that Jerusalem is a permanent status issue that must be resolved through negotiations between the two parties.

QUESTION: Can you tell us, did this come up in Ambassador Mitchell’s meetings in London yesterday? Apparently, we were told that he met an advisor to Netanyahu, asked them to not permit these new buildings, and then that request was flatly turned down.

MR. KELLY: Yeah. Andy, I just don’t want to get into the substance of these negotiations. They’re sensitive. I think you’ve seen the Israeli – some Israeli press reports that did report that this was raised in the meetings. This is – I mean, these kinds of unilateral actions are exactly the kind of actions that we think that both sides should refrain from at a time when we’re trying to start the negotiations again. But I don’t want to get into the substance of the discussions yesterday in London.

QUESTION: Would you steer us away from not believing the Israeli press reports?

MR. KELLY: I just don’t want to get into the substance. I’m not going to steer you one way or the other on it.

QUESTION: Where’s Senator Mitchell today?

QUESTION: How long is the U.S. going to continue to tolerate Israel’s violation of international law? I mean, soon it’s not even going to be possible – there’s not going to be any land left for the Palestinians to establish an independent state.

MR. KELLY: Well, again, this is a – we understand the Israeli point of view about Jerusalem. But we think that all sides right now, at this time when we’re expending such intense efforts to try and get the two sides to sit down, that we should refrain from these actions, like this decision to move forward on an approval process for more housing units in East Jerusalem.

QUESTION: But should U.S. inaction, or in response to Israel’s actions, then be interpreted as some sort of about-face in policy – the President turning his back on the promises he’s made to the Palestinians?

MR. KELLY: You’re – okay, you’re using language that I wouldn’t use. I mean, again, our focus is to get these negotiations started. We’re calling on both parties to refrain from actions, from – and from rhetoric that would impede this process. It’s a challenging time, and we just need to focus on what’s important here, and that’s --

QUESTION: Well, what actions (inaudible) the Palestinians taken recently that would impede progress?

MR. KELLY: Well, as I say, we would discourage all unilateral actions

Reacting to the unilateral action in Jerusalem, Palestinian Authority chief negotiator Saeb Erekat said that there was no point in discussions while Israel expands Jewish neighborhoods in a part of Jerusalem that Palestinians want for their capital.

Palestine: Mahmoud Abbas Sticks Around as "President"

Israel-Palestine-US Special: Stakes Raised With Approval of More Settlements
Middle East Inside Line: Threats Begin To Fly Between Palestine & Israel

Receive our latest updates by email or RSS SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FEED
Buy Us A Cup of Coffee? Help Enduring America Expand Its Coverage and Analysis

Officials from the Palestinian Liberation Organization stated on Tuesday that Abbas's term as the Palestinian "President" will be extended when the PLO supreme body meets in December. Abbas's term, depending on the interpretation of Palestine's electoral law, has already expired or officially expires on 25 January.

Azzam al-Ahmad, a senior official in Fatah said: "The Central Council has only one solution and it is to entrust the president, as head of the PLO, with continuing as president of the Palestinian Authority until it is able to hold presidential and legislative elections."

Middle East Inside Line: Israel's Lieberman Renews Attack on Palestinian Authority

Middle East Inside Line: Threats Begin To Fly Between Palestine & Israel

Receive our latest updates by email or RSS SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FEED
Buy Us A Cup of Coffee? Help Enduring America Expand Its Coverage and Analysis

Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman stated on Monday that the Palestinian Authority was playing an "ugly and double game," by seeking Israel's support in crushing Hamas while submitting simultaneous complaints to the international community. He said:

During Operation Cast Lead, the Palestinian Authority pressured us to crush Hamas. Then, a month later, they submitted a complaint against us to the International Criminal Court in The Hague.

Even before the Goldstone Commission published its damning report about Israel's offensive against Hamas in the Gaza Strip, there were a thousand complaints against Israel at the ICC, a large number of them encouraged by the PA.

Lieberman placed the bomb in the hands of Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas with an accusation which might be aimed at increasing the tension between Hamas and the PA. This is highly likely to bring out a more sharp-tongued Abbas, determined to save his position, while also providing relatively easy conditions for the Netanyahu government to "cope with" the demands of the international community regarding Palestine.

Middle East Inside Line: Threats Begin To Fly Between Palestine & Israel

Middle East Inside Line: Israel’s Lieberman Renews Attack on Palestinian Authority

Receive our latest updates by email or RSS SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FEED
Buy Us A Cup of Coffee? Help Enduring America Expand Its Coverage and Analysis

After mutual threats both from the Palestinian Authority chief negotiator Saeb Erekat and the Israeli Prime Minister who have stated that the Palestinians would be going to UN Security Council to ask unilaterally for the recognition of a Palestinian state and that any unilateral move would be met in the very same way respectively, both sides continued threatening each other on Monday.

Erekat stated that they will be seeking European Union's support before applying to the UNSC. He added: "We will seek the support of all members of the international community." EU foreign ministers are going to discuss this on Tuesday.

In a prompt reply, Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman reiterated Netanyahu's threats and said:

Any one-sided Palestinian move will be met with steps of our own. Whoever makes unilateral policy with complete disregard for past accords will get the same from us. Breach of accords will not go unanswered.

However, following the increasing tension, a sign of a possible crack has appeared in the Netanyahu G=government. Although neither Netanyahu nor Lieberman elaborated on what these retaliations might be, Industry and Trade Minister Benjamin Ben Eliezer (Labor) stated that his party would be pulling out of the government if the government decides to annex the West Bank settlements.

And, Hamas... Of course, it dismissed the PA's proposal and called on Mahmoud Abbas to work on ending the occupation before declaring independence. Hamas spokesman Salah Bardweel said:

Why not declare a Palestinian state from the sea [Mediterranean] to the river [of Jordan] rather than in the West Bank and Gaza only?

This move is not a meaningful declaration. It simply aims at escaping the benefits of resistance against the occupation. Instead of threatening to unilaterally declare a Palestinian state to be established in the air, we should work on liberating the occupied territories and end the current internal [Palestinian] division.

Israel-Palestine & France: Sarkozy Calls Abbas after Meeting Netanyahu

Palestine: Abbas Bluffs & Wins — January Election Postponed
Netanyahu in Paris: Is France Mediating Israel-Syria Talks?
Inside Line on Hamas & Hezbollah: Their Thoughts on Obama, Unity Governments, & Oprah

Receive our latest updates by email or RSS SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FEED
Buy Us A Cup of Coffee? Help Enduring America Expand Its Coverage and Analysis

Following the visit of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Paris, French President Nicholas Sarkozy phoned the leader of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas. According to Sarkozy's office, the French Presdient stated the conditions that would allow a quick return to Israel-Palestine talks, but the statement did not reveal the conditions.

After the conversation, an Abbas aide told Agence France Presse, "President Sarkozy had very important suggestions on how to move the peace process forward," without elaborating further. Another Palestinian senior official told AFP that both leaders talked about the idea of organizing a Middle East peace conference in Moscow, an idea Russia has been pushing for months.