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Israeli's housing expansion plan has earned that country condemnation from the US
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March 11, 2008, 15:15
By Peroshni Govender
Israel's decision to begin construction of new housing units in the disputed East Jerusalem, as well as in the West Bank, has been internationally condemned.
Israel's building is in direct contravention to the road map to peace with Palestinians and the newly revived negotiations. Going into the talks in November last year, Israel committed to halt all settlement activity. But three months into the process, Israel has continued to backtrack on its pledges around settlements.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon says the latest building violates the road map for peace in the Middle East and international law.
Even the United States - Israel's closest ally and sponsor of the new round of Middle East peace talks - has condemned the settlement expansion, saying it will not move the stagnant talks. US State Department spokesperson Sean McCormack said the Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice had spoken to Israel's Defence Minister Ehud Barak about the issue.
Palestinians say the renewed settlement construction threatens to derail the peace process that is struggling to gain momentum. Chief Palestinian Negotiator Saéb Erekat said continued transgressions weaken the Palestinian President's standing among his people. He appealed to the US to intervene.
"Why do they (Israel) insist on doing this and humiliating Abu Mazen (Mahmoud Abbas) in front of the Palestinian public?" Erekat asked.
Building permits renewed
Israel maintains that the construction is legitimate. Israeli Housing Minister Ze'ev Boim says the project was first approved eight years ago but was suspended when the second intifada erupted.
"When the violence subsided, demand grew again and contractors renewed their permits to build there," he told Israel Radio.
Boim said construction will include 350 apartments in Givat Ze'ev settlement outside Jerusalem, which is technically in the West Bank, as well as a further 750 units in Pisgat Ze'ev, which is in East Jerusalem.
There will be another 360 units in Har Homa or Jabal al Mukabr as the Palestinians call the neighbourhood close to Bethlehem.
Israel captured the West Bank and East Jerusalem in the 1967 Six Day War. It immediately annexed East Jerusalem and considers the entire city as its capital. The occupation has not been internationally recognised.
Palestinians see East Jerusalem - which is home to Islam's third holiest site, the Haram al Sharief - as the undisputed capital of their future independent state. They also expect all illegal Jewish settlements and the outposts on the West Bank to be evacuated. Over 400 000 Israelis live in illegal settlements in the West Bank, East Jerusalem and other areas disputed and considered Palestinian land.
Mark Regev, spokesperson in the Israeli Prime Minister's Office, said the construction was "consistent with our long standing position that building within large settlement blocs, which will stay a part of Israel in any final status agreement, will continue."
He said construction outside the settlement blocs has been frozen. Regev said Israel believes that it will retain control of the larger settlement blocs, even those on the West Bank, in any peace deal.
The religious Shas party and member of Olmert's ruling coalition is claiming responsibility for the resumption of construction. Shas said it threatened a no-confidence vote unless the construction resumed.
By approving the construction, Olmert not only avoided a coalition crisis - he also avoided a possible law suit of more than R3.5 billion by the contractors. He also risks alienating Israel's biggest ally, the US, and jeopardising the peace process.
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