The top news story in today's Middle East Peace Report offers a real scoop. Just two days after Netanyahu met with Obama in the Oval Office, Israel approved construction at a new settlement site. While the approval for new construction in the settlements is being reported on in the Israeli press today, nobody else seems to have yet realized that the decision was approved immediately after the Netanyahu-Obama meeting.
Below is the article from the Middle East Peace Report. Hebrew readers might want to take a look at the affidavit it references.
DISRESPECTING OBAMA: An affidavit provided to the Israeli High Court of Justice yesterday testifies that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government approved the construction of a new "neighborhood" near the settlement of Adam just two days after Netanyahu met with President Barack Obama in the White House.
Speaking to reporters alongside Netanyahu on May 18th, Obama reiterated that Israel had committed to a settlement freeze and said that "settlements have to be stopped in order for us to move forward."
The affidavit, signed by Defense Ministry official Eitan Broshi, was provided to the court as a status report on Israel's plans to remove settlers from the outpost of Migron. The court's involvement follows a Peace Now legal petition which prompted the Israeli government to undertake to remove the settlers from Migron. In the course of the case, the government also conceded that this outpost was built on private Palestinian property.
Broshi, who serves as settlement affairs advisor to Defense Minister Ehud Barak, tells the court that the Defense Ministry approved the construction of a new neighborhood on May 20th, and that this was done with the consent of Israel's political leaders. "Allow me to make clear that the understandings to advance the establishment of the new neighborhood were examined by the current political echelon... and was authorized by them," he swore.
Currently about 2,000 settlers reside in Adam. That population would grow exponentially if the plan Broshi describes were carried out in full. 1450 housing units are planned for the new neighborhood, although Broshi makes clear that final Defense Ministry approval has only been provided for the construction of 50 houses at this point.
Presumably, those 50 units would accommodate the current residents of the Migron outpost. "Instead of evacuating the illegal outpost of 40 housing units, Barak rewards law breakers and approves the establishment of a future settlement of 1450 housing units, east of the [West Bank] separation barrier. Barak is proving to the settler leadership that violence and illegal outpost construction pay off," Peace Now Director General Yariv Oppenheimer told Ma'arivNRG. (PeaceNow.org.il, 6/29/09; Haaretz, 6/29/09; Israel Army Radio, 6/29/09; Ma'arivNRG, 6/29/09)
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There are reports that Netanyahu will have Barak offer a "temporary" and "partial" settlement freeze at his meeting with Mitchell on Tuesday. This would be an outrage...a complete betrayal of what Netanyahu and the Likud claim to believe in, just like they did with the destruction of Gush Katif. If this should prove to be true, then there will be a firestorm of protest on the Right. In any event Bibi would be stupid to agree to this since Obama would always claim the Israeli is violating the agreement, and that it isn't really supposed to be temporary but permanent.
In any event, Obama has no way to force Israel to agree to this. Obama has painted himself into a corner.
Interesting the notion of Israel Independence...
Haaretz
Last update - 16:36 30/06/2009
U.S. re-approves Israel loan guarantees program
By Reuters
The United States has re-approved its Israel loan guarantees program, subject to meeting fiscal targets, the Finance Ministry in Jerusalem said Tuesday.
The move comes amid tensions between Israel and the Obama administration over Jerusalem's settlement policy in the West Bank.
"Re-approval of the loan guarantees shows significant faith in Israel's economy by the U.S. government," Yarom Ariav, the Finance Ministry's director-general, said in a statement after signing the agreement.
This Israeli government and many Israeli citizens are no longer striving for peace based on the long-established land for peace principle. They are striving to build and protect settlements. What does Israel do when there's no viable amount of contiguous land left on which to establish a Palestinian State and when, w/in the next 30 years, there are more Arabs than Jews between the Jordan River and the Sea? What horror will we commit to empty the W. Bank of Palestinians? Or will we simply establish an apartheid state? Carter says we have one now; he's wrong. But at this rate, we will surely have one soon.
Edward-
According to what you said, you should be the FIRST to support building settlements in Judea/Samaria. If you are correct, and that it will soon be impossible to make a contiguous Palestinian state, then the Palestinians should now hurry up and make peace "before it is too late". That, of course, is based on the assumption that the goals of the Palestinians is to "build a state" and have "self-determination". I do NOT believe that's what they want, but that is another story.