- United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan called on
the Jewish state on Tuesday to stop expanding settlements in Palestinian
areas.
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- "The secretary-general expresses strong concern
over reports of Israeli settlement expansion in the West Bank, through
the government of Israel's recent publication of tenders for construction
of new housing units," UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters.
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- "The secretary-general calls on the government of
Israel to cease this settlement expansion and to fulfill its 'road map'
obligations," Dujarric said, referring to the blueprint for a Middle
East peace put forward in 2003 by the so-called Quartet of international
mediators including the United States, Russia, the European Union and the
United Nations.
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- The road map calls for a freeze on all settlement activity
including the construction of new housing to accommodate an existing settlement's
natural growth.
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- But Israel has announced plans for 1,530 new settler
homes in the occupied West Bank after Washington on reportedly signaled
that it could accept building within existing construction lines of settlements
that have spread on territory Israel captured in the 1967 Middle East war.
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- U.S.: Construction in settlements must stop Deputy State
Department spokesman Adam Ereli on Monday denied reports published by the
New York Times on Saturday, according to which the U.S. administration
has changed its policy regarding the construction of new homes in West
Bank settlements.
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- Ereli said that the U.S. position on the settlements
has not changed, and that settlement activity in the West Bank and Gaza
Strip must stop.
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- "I think it's wrong and inaccurate to write that
somehow the United States is condoning or supporting or otherwise turning
a blind eye to agreements made in the road map," Ereli said, noting
that the road map peace initiative calls for working towards a settlement
freeze.
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- The New York Times reported on Saturday that the Bush
administration has changed its stance on Israeli construction in the West
Bank, and now supports building in existing settlements, although not in
undeveloped areas.
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- The paper reported that Washington has altered its stance
to lend political support to Prime Minister Ariel Sharon at a time of political
turmoil.
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- Settlement blocs are being built up; everything else
is frozen Various government ministries, particularly the ministries of
defense and housing, have already begun implementing Sharon's policy of
strengthening the large settlement blocs, although the geographic boundaries
of the blocs have been somewhat limited.
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- Extensive construction is under way only in the settlements
straddling the seam line (such as Upper Modi'in or Oranit) and the very
large urban blocs (Ma'aleh Adumim and Upper Betar, for example). In most
of the West Bank settlements, no new building plans are being ratified
and whatever construction is taking place, began two years ago or more.
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- Every week, council heads discover that areas that had
been included in the master plans for their settlements are now outside
the building zones that are drawn according to aerial photographs by the
defense establishment, in accordance with the commitment to the U.S. to
refrain from construction beyond the existing built-up areas.
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- Also every week, council heads are informed of new freezes,
delays and suspensions of approved plans and transfers of funds to the
settlements. At present, the defense establishment is holding up approval
of 160 construction plans in the settlements, mainly those outside the
large blocs.
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- While Peace Now has attacked the U.S. for apparently
reaching an agreement with the Israeli government to allow construction
in settlement blocs on the basis of natural population increase, the settlers
say this is a misconception and that the second Sharon government is the
worst that the settlements have ever had to deal with.
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- "These understandings," settlers leaders say,
"are considerably worse than the previous understandings, which were
bad enough but did not limit construction beyond the existing built-up
area."
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- According to members of the Yesha Council of settlers,
the true significance of the understandings reached between U.S. Ambassador
Dan Kurtzer and the defense minister's adviser, Baruch Spiegel, is that
"even the large settlement blocs that Sharon promised to beef up will
not be able to expand beyond the existing built-up area. In other words,
it will be possible to build on top of existing houses or on the grass
between the houses."
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- A case in point is Karnei Shomron (with a population
of 6,480), where five months ago the housing minister unfroze tenders for
45 units. Two months ago, the tenders were refrozen but a few days ago,
new tenders were published as part of the understandings. Council head
Hodi Lieberman says this is a smokescreen that is intended to cover up
a prolonged freeze.
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- Only 60 units that were approved two years ago are currently
being built. Lieberman says that the late prime minister, Yitzhak Rabin
"took the workers out of the building sites and stopped construction.
Sharon is even more systematic. He is pulling up the roots."
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